Key events
And with that, I’m done. Bye!
Andy Robertson admits Scotland “could have lost 6-0” given the chances Netherlands missed near the end, and is generally a bit miffed.
Anger. Disappointment. You can’t come away to these big teams and play the way we did. We have to take a lot of heart from the first 70 minutes but the game’s over 90 minutes. The fact we’ve walked off losing 4-0 is unbelievable, it’s impossible for that to happen. The last couple of games we’ve shipped quite a lot of goals and that’s not what we’re based on. People looking at that result will think, very one-sided but it was far from that.
You go 1-0 down to a wonderstrike, but then we didn’t panic, we kept playing, and we started the second half extremely well. At this level it’s all about putting the ball in the back of the net and if you go one each it’s a different game. But what we can’t do is open up like we did. That’s a collective thing. We opened up too much. You can look at the chances we missed and we’ve got to be more clinical but we’ve also got to keep them out at the back door. The last six games we’ve dropped our standards. We need to get back to winning ways, that’s what we have to do, and it needs to start quickly.
Here’s Jamie Jackson’s match report:
At the Johan Cruyff Arena Steve Clarke would not demand pretty football, only a Scotland victory after five games without enjoying one. Instead the run is six as the manager oversaw an embarrassing fourth loss of his team’s flatlining form and must now target Tuesday’s visit of Northern Ireland to Hampden Park to stop the slump.
His side were profligate and Netherlands clinical, Georginio Wijnaldum’s 72nd-minute header joining Tijjani Reijnders’s first-half opener and emulated by finishes from Wout Weghorst and Donyell Malen, as Scotland’s European Championship preparations suffered a body blow.
Much more here:
John McGinn has a chat:
Strange one. Looking back, overall I think we’ve got so much to take from the game but the scoreline’s an embarrassing one for us. When you get good spells in the game, which we did, we had good chances, one of them’s got to go in. Then off the back of that we’ve got to be more streetwise and when it goes to 2-0 shut up shop a little bit.
That’s the thing that hurts the most tonight, we’re going into a tournament where goal difference is going to be so important. We didn’t think the Netherlands were a million miles away from us. Tonight was, up until a certain point, one of the best away performances I’ve experienced but it means nothing at the end of the day. We let [some] bad habits slip back in.
While we wait for a match report:
I mean, not that concerning. But until they made a load of substitutions and conceded the second with 18 minutes to play, Scotland were very good and at that point probably deserved to be ahead. After that, things fell apart somewhat.
Final score: Netherlands 4-0 Scotland
90+4 mins: It’s all over! An encouraging thrashing for Scotland, and a concerning romp for the Dutch.
90+3 mins: One last chance for the road! Malen jinks past a couple of opponents on the left flank and sends in a lovely pass that Koopmeiners runs onto and, with just the keeper to beat, volleys wide.
90+1 mins: There’ll be three minutes of stoppage time, or thereabouts.
90+1 mins: Malen is played through again, but he chips the ball onto the roof of the net. And is also offside.
89 mins: The Netherlands are passing the ball around, the game being very much over at this point.
GOAL! Netherlands 4-0 Scotland (Malen, 86 mins)
This is just mean. Another excellent Reijnders pass and Malen dribbles into the area, gets a lucky bounce off Porteous, and tucks the ball inside the far post!
GOAL! Netherlands 3-0 Scotland (Weghorst, 84 mins)
The big man nods in the corner! He’s only just come on, and Scotland clearly don’t know who should be marking him, so nobody does, which is an issue.
84 mins: Koopmeiners is played through by Reijnders with a lovely, outside-of-the-right-boot pass, and he goes past Gunn but doing so takes him to the byline, and Porteous cuts out his cross.
83 mins: Is a defeat less depressing if you play really well and make loads of chances, or more?
82 mins: Blind and Koopmeiners come on for Wijnaldum and Gakpo.
81 mins: Gakpo cuts onto his right foot but shoots wide of the back stick.
78 mins: The home side make their first substitutions, bringing on Wout Weghorst and Donyell Malen for Simons and Depay.
77 mins: Another great chance for Scotland! Ralston’s cross from the right finds McTominay at the far post, but he heads wide!
74 mins: A couple more substitutions from Scotland, who bring Anthony Ralston for Patterson, and Stuart Armstrong for Christie
GOAL! Netherlands 2-0 Scotland (Wijnaldum, 72 mins)
And in the end the second goal goes to the Netherlands! They work the ball wide to Gakpo on the left, and he sends in a lovely right-footed cross that finds Wijnaldum puzzlingly unmarked at the near post – Souttar, just on the field, was not up to speed – to head in.
71 mins: McGinn’s curler from 16 yards doesn’t quite curl enough. The Scots have had 12 shots, double the Dutch, but only two have been on target.
70 mins: But Depay hits Hendry’s head in the wall, and Scotland clear.
69 mins: Depay goes down on the edge of the area – Hendry had his hands on his shoulders but didn’t seem to be doing anything with them. The referee lets the Dutch play on for a while before bringing it back. This is a seriously good shooting chance.
68 mins: Some Scottish substitutions, the first of which sees Shankland leave the field. The frustration that man must feel. Che Adams comes on, and Souttar replaces Tierney while Ferguson comes on for Gilmour.
65 mins: Here’s that chance in full. At the other end, Simons turns, assesses his options, then plays a bewildering pass to nobody.
62 mins: Incredible miss! Wieffer collects the ball from Flekken, turns and hits his pass straight into McTominay, off whom it bounces to Shankland. He runs into the area, draws Flekken and sidefoots into the woodwork!
59 mins: Simons spins in the area and sends in a shot that bounces a couple of yards wide. Surely – surely – this game is not finishing 1-0.
56 mins: Robertson now races into the area, tries to turn away from Ake and sends the ball to a covering defender.
56 mins: This half has been ridiculously action-packed. Gakpo has a shot from 20 yards that Gunn has to push over the bar.
54 mins: Gilmore intercepts Flekken’s pass to Reijnders, gets the ball back 0ff a teammate then has a shot from the edge of the area that deflects just wide!
51 mins: Chance! Nearly an equaliser for the Scots! A remarkable couple of minutes ends with McGinn seeing his low, hard shot saved, picking up the rebound and crossing to Christie who, completely unmarked and 10 yards out, heads back across goal and wide!
49 mins: Save! Nearly a second for the Dutch! This is their best attack of the game, and it ends with Simons passing to Depay, who spins away from Hendry and, despite the defender’s enthusiastic shirt-tugging, sends a left-foot shot towards the corner, but Gunn dives to his left and palms it to safety!
48 mins: Chance for Scotland! Robertson’s excellent pass infield from the left is superbly brought under control by McTominay, who then turns back onto his right foot, eight yards out, and a goal, or at least something close to one, seems inevitable, but he’s closed down before he can get a shot off.
46 mins: The players are back out and play has restarted. I have had some soup.
