'Scotland's Hampden warriors return to reserved selves'

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Highlights: Scotland 0-1 Japan

From the return to Hampden after the glories of Denmark last November there was nothing to trouble the jury, no Scottish goal of any kind, not a bicycle kick from the gods, not a stunner from the halfway line, not even an ugly, sclaffed effort that found Japan's net off a Scottish backside. That would have been a thing of beauty on the night.

Nothing may ever hold a candle to that evening against Denmark, but this was a bit of a letdown. There wasn't much atmosphere, wasn't much attitude, wasn't any real standout displays from any of Scotland's go-to men, who were all a bit timid.

There was a debut for Findlay Curtis, which was a nice moment. There was a start for Tommy Conway, who's going well with Middlesbrough, second in the Championship in England.

Conway ran his socks off, the pity being he was playing out wide, and at times, almost as a wing-back, which is very far away from where he is most effective.

Conway was singled out for praise by Steve Clarke later on. His night ended in defeat but he'll have the comfort of knowing he has done his World Cup aspirations no harm at all, as Clarke put it. Not a bad night's work, if it means a seat on the plane to the States.

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There were a few boos at the end - small pockets and quickly disappearing - and the temptation was to laugh when they came. A few months ago this place was literally shaking as the Danes were put to the sword. Short memories.

Those few boos were silly but they probably reflected the lack of something to cheer about, the lack of red meat to chew on.

Scotland had a Scott McTominay chance, another after a driving run and shot from Andy Robertson, and a third when George Hirst hit the near side-netting when he'd have been better off going across goal.

Apart from that, there were only brief moments when Scotland's tempo and aggression was right, when they took the game to Japan and gave them a few things to think about.

Losing to a late goal to a team in the top 20 in the world is no calamity - Japan beat Brazil by a goal not that long ago - but the passiveness of much of what Scotland did was where the disappointment lay. As an attacking force they never really got going.

They came here looking for a performance and some momentum and didn't get either. Japan didn't cut them open with their brilliance or outclass them from start to finish, they didn't pepper Angus Gunn's goal and force him into a string of excellent saves, but they were more cohesive and fully deserving of the win.

A first half of slow, safe and unthreatening football from Clarke's side - they had just two touches in Japan's penalty box in 45 minutes - gave way to a more urgent Scotland early in the new half. It didn't last nearly as long as they would have hoped.

No iconic goal but a big miss to kick things off. Last time we saw McTominay at Hampden he launched himself eight feet into the air to score an overhead kick for the ages. Here, he missed from point-blank range in the opening minutes.

Great save from Zion Suzuki who tipped McTominay's effort on to the post, but a player of his calibre should not be missing chances like that. He very rarely does.

Had he scored would Scotland have found their intensity, their aggression, their self-belief against a tidy Japan team?

Hard to say, but Scotland were hushed for too long in this game, too respectful of the visitors, not aggressive enough and too easily brushed off the ball, too flat, not enough edge. They defended well. That was probably the best of it.

The truth about this contest is if it wasn't a World Cup year the entire thing would be largely irrelevant, but it's deeply relevant because Scotland are on the clock now.

Time is ticking. Ivory Coast on Tuesday, Curacao on 30 May, a flight to America the next day, a final friendly in New Jersey in early June - and then the big show.

Scotland need momentum, they need to crash rather than limp into the World Cup, they need to hit the ground running. They had, and did, none of these things at the Euros in Germany. The power they had in qualification dissipated during the warm-up games. They arrived at the Euros searching for confidence and failed to find it.

That would have been one of the big takeaways from that tournament - the need to hold on to the energy and feelgood that got them there in the first place.

Scotland still have time to regain it before America. A rousing performance against Ivory Coast - ranked 35 in the world to Scotland's 40 - in Liverpool and they'll be where they want to be. After that, Curacao at home. A win against the world number 82 to send them on their way, surely?

Clarke's team are becoming a bit of an enigma, a curiosity that's hard to read. The performances rise and fall. It's hard to get an angle on where they're at.

Take their games in qualification. Tremendously resilient in Copenhagen in getting a goalless draw in round one, ultra professional in beating Belarus in round two.

Then, a bizarre 3-1 win at home to Greece on a night when the visitors were by far the better side, followed by a 2-1 win against Belarus that led to so many players, and Clarke, expressing disappointment in the most brutal and graphic terms. John McGinn described the pair of victories as "jobby" performances.

Next, to Greece. Losing 3-0 - it could have been been five had it not been for Craig Gordon's heroics - Scotland rallied and eventually lost 3-2. They were heading for the play-off until Belarus did them the most enormous favour in Copenhagen.

So, a mix of bottle and luck got them to the big showdown against Denmark where sheer class and never-say-die took them the rest of the way. This Scotland team has many faces.

Saturday was a return to their reserved selves when, really, you wanted to see the warriors of November, or at least a version of them. All eyes on Tuesday night, then, and Scotland's search for the intensity and vitality we know they have.

Clarke has promised six or seven changes. The new blood need to infuse Scotland with some verve. Now is not the time to go into their shell. Against Ivory Coast, they need to come out fighting.

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