DUBLIN – Scotland captain Andy Robertson said his side were deservedly booed off by a large travelling support in Dublin after being thrashed 3-0 by the Republic of Ireland.
The Irish had not won in 12 previous Nations League matches and scored just two goals in the process, but were thoroughly deserving of their first win on home soil in a competitive match for three years.
Scotland were also outclassed 3-1 by Ukraine in a World Cup playoff 10 days ago to bring an eight-game unbeaten run to an abrupt end.
“It wasn’t good enough,” said Robertson. “That’s the second time in 10 days we’ve said that and it's not like us.
“We’ve let our manager down. He set us up to play a certain way and we’ve not carried it out. Every one of us lost our individual battles out there.
“The fans behind the goal booing us off were completely right to do that. It was nowhere near good enough in a Scotland jersey.”
Ireland boss Stephen Kenny finally had something to celebrate as his side dominated from the start.
The hosts took the lead in the 20th minute when Alan Browne bundled the ball over the line after Shane Duffy had headed down a James McClean corner.
Ireland’s second goal came just seven minutes later when Michael Obafemi’s perfectly-weighted pass into the Scotland box found Troy Parrott who headed past onrushing goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
Things went from bad to worse for Scotland and Gordon in the second half as Swansea striker Obafemi capped his first international start with a thunderous drive that bewildered the Hearts stopper from outside the box.
Ireland could even have had a fourth but a VAR check denied Scott Hogan as his effort was hooked off the line by Grant Hanley.
Victory takes Ireland above Scotland on goal difference in Group B1, but both trail Ukraine, who were 3-0 winners over Armenia earlier on Saturday, by three points. – AFP, June 12, 2022
