Sebastian Poconoli says there was still plenty to learn from Ljubljana’s 0-0 draw with Slovenia despite failing to win his first game as Scotland manager.
The 39-year-old Belgian replaced Steve Clarke after Scotland’s winless exit in August. world cupIt was frustrating to see his team frustrated by Jan Oblak’s goal-scoring performance.
The team got off to a slow start in the 45th minute of the first half, with Robbie Ure nearly missing a goal late in the half when the rookie cut inside from the outside of the post on a pass from McGinn.
Scotland turned the corner in the second half, dominating possession and creating several clear-cut chances, but Oblak spurned them.
Oli McBurnie, returning after five years on the international wilderness, had the clearest chance when he rounded the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper but his shot was blocked before he could hit it.
Billy Gilmour’s low shot was blocked by Oblak and Kieron Bowie failed to convert when he was left alone in the box.
Poconoli admitted his side produced two distinct halves.
“I think we have two games in the same game but you can analyze both games in a positive way,” he told BBC Scotland.
“The structure of the first half was not what we expected. We were in the middle in front of the press and we were actually a little surprised by the Slovenian formation, but at half-time we sorted it out and you can see that the second half was much better.”
“We created what we wanted to show every minute, but in the first half we learned to stick together, defend the penalty area, be flexible and be patient to change the game.
“We were also challenged with set pieces and after five minutes we had a lot of set pieces to defend, so that’s a positive way of looking at the first half. It’s not always a positive, but in the second half we had a ball game against low blocks.
“So we had a lot of good movement out wide and in defence, and to be honest we should have scored. But the counter-pressing was good and the defense was high just because the players were in better positions. Clean sheet, that’s a positive too. But we want to win. I think we can be positive about that.”