Kazakhstan 3-0 Scotland: McLeish side face nightmare to Euro 2020 qualification

Forget the artificial pitch. Spare people any excuses over the loss of Andrew Robertson or Kieran Tierney. Or talk of an average team age of 24.6 or the safety net provided by a Nations League play-off place. Nothing can explain or defend the sheer gut-churning humiliation of what became Scotland here.

Against a team rated 117 in the FIFA World rankings this was a pitiful loss. One of the most embarassing in Scottish football history.

The 1978 World Cup in Argentina is usually held up as the low watermark for Scotland's national team. Yet, set against a capitulation like this, defeats to Peru and Iran in a major international tournament can now be seen for what they were. The halcyon days.

Five months ago Alex McLeish secured a nervy passage towards a Nations League play-off with a 3-2 win over Israel. The nature of this defeat was so wretched that questions will now be asked over his future as Scotland manager.

A 2-1 defeat to Israel last October did nothing for Big Eck's approval ratings and long before the end of this bookmakers Paddy Power were emailing journalists the latest odds on his dismissal with a list of potential replacements.

A bold attacking 4-3-3 formation was ruthlessly picked apart in the opening minutes and Scotland's manager is long enough in the tooth to know how people react to a 3-0 defeat in Kazakhstan.

The statistics serve much the same purpose as a hangman's noose.

In their last three qualifying campaigns Michael Bilek's team had managed just one home win, a 4-0 thrashing of mighty Andorra. Five draws and seven defeats raised legitimate expectations here of a Scotland win. Not for the first time this was a grim and gruesome reality check.

When the roof slides closed in the space-age Astana Arena it tends to become an intergalactic torture chamber for Scots sides.

The cardboard clappers are always the giveaway. When things go well here the locals begin banging loudly on the backs of seats, making a ferocious din. After ten minutes here they barely believe what they were seeing. In truth, no one could.

Celtic were 4-1 down in a Champions League qualifier before the clappers fell silent in the face of two late, face-saving goals. As the home nation cruised into a two goal lead after ten minutes the clappers were going ten to the dozen.

In the face of a Staggeringly one-sided win over a Scots team rated 77 places higher in the FIFA rankings they never let up. The performance from the visitors was so abject, so inept, that the noise almost prised open the roof and removed it from its metal hinges.

Make no mistake, this was one of the most embarassing defeats ever suffered by Scotland's national team. The night began badly after six minutes and went steadily downhill.

With their very first attack Kazakhstan scored a stunning goal. The opening minutes offered no hint of what was to come. A simply long ball picked out Yurly Pertsukh as the midfielder crept in behind the blue shirted Scots backline.

The visitors looked for an offside flag which never came. Credit the number eight, he took one touch then cracked a left foot half volley into the roof of the net with his left foot from 18 yards. It was a stunning goal; a stunning start to the game.

There was always Scottish apprehension beneath the surface. Call it harsh, bitter experience but those of us who bear the scars of gruesome trips to Georgia and Israel have learned to take nothing for granted.

McLeish was discouraged from playing either Ryan Fraser or Callum Paterson on the plastic surface by Bournemouth and Cardiff City. From naming two quality left-backs in his squad Big Eck was forced to pitch Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie in for his first competitive start after Robertson and Tierney - arguably his two best players - were ruled out in the last 72 hours.

In truth he didn't have much option. Yet the problem was clear.

A left-back in his Inverness days, Shinnie operates as a midfielder at Pittodrie. And when Kazkhstan scored their second after 10 minutes it showed.

A sliderule pass between Scott McKenna and Shinnie from Islamabek Kuat picked out the run in behind of Yan Vorogovsky. The wing-back simply poked his foot out and prodded the ball beyond Scott Bain.

Ten minutes into his competitive debut as Scotland keeper Celtic's goalkeeper had already picked the ball out of the net twice.

For Scotland this was now the stuff of nightmares. Denied the services of their captain Robertson by a dental operation Celtic's Callum McGregor captained the team, yet the lack of hard nosed experience and solid leadership was glaring.

In the last qualifying game under Gordon Strachan in Slovenia Scotland's average age was 27.8. At 27 years and eight months James Forrest was the oldest player in the team last night and Mcleish was now witnessing lambs to the slaughter.

The only mercy is that the scoreline stayed at three. Before the half hour a dipping long range shot from Kuat dipped viciously, forcing Bain to top the ball over the bar at the last minute.

As an attacking force Scotland offered virtually nothing. Oli Burke and Forrest played either side of Oli McBurnie in an attacking formation. The Swansea striker had ten goals in his last ten games before this but limped from the pitch a beaten and disconsolate figure after an hour. Replaced by Johnny Russell McBurnie has now gone seven caps without threatening an international goal.

By then Kazakhstan were three goals ahead, Baktiyor Zainutdinov outjumping Scott McKenna with ridiculous ease to aim a downward header in off the base of the far post after 51 minutes.

For Scotland this was now an exercise in damage limitation. They could no more prevent a humiliation than they could a No Deal Brexit, yet the lack of menace and attacking guile throughout the 90 minutes was an alarming business.

Southampton's Stuart Armstrong finally got a break of the ball inside the area after 55 minutes, a weak right foot strike creeping towards the net until Dmytro Nepohodov dived low to produce a fine save. With almost an hour played it was the Kazakhstan goalkeeper's first of the match. Pretty pretty much his last.