Scotland’s 3-1 win over Greece was “one of the most frustrating games you’ll ever watch” despite putting the national team in a good position for World Cup qualification, former midfielder John Collins has suggested.
The visitors dominated territorially and led 1-0 before Scotland’s late three-goal flurry.
“We’ve got to say that the opposition played very well in possession,” Collins told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland. “I thought their composure on the ball, their build-up play from the back, was top quality.
“Our pressing was way off it. We went as individuals. We never went as a collective unit. They just passed through us and around us and it was one of the most frustrating games you’ll ever watch from a Scotland point of view.
“Lady Luck was on our side last night, there’s no doubt about that. There’s only one team that probably deserved to win the game and that was Greece.”
However, the three points puts Scotland, along with Denmark, four points clear of Greece in European qualifying Group C and Collins is hoping for three more at home to Belarus on Sunday – and an improved performance.
“We can’t always depend on set-pieces,” he added. “We were good late in the game and good delivery into the box. We’ve always got that with John McGinn and Ryan Christie putting balls in.
“We’ve got to get better at passing the ball and keeping the ball, 33% possession last night, 26% against Denmark. It’s rare you win games with those kind of numbers.
“We’ve got valuable points and hopefully we can get the performance levels up. The difficulty for the manager is there’s a lot of players not playing week in, week out.
“We expect a little low in confidence, touch not quite there. Ben Doak, a shining example last night, he’s not playing for his club. Wide players that make the difference need confidence and need sharpness. You don’t get that without game time.”