Norway slash down Ten Man Scotland 4-0

Norway slash down Ten Man Scotland 4-0

The famous old television refrain, “disaster for Scotland”, applied very easily to these dreadful 90 minutes for George Burley’s team in Oslo last night. Scotland came to this Norwegian city with high hopes of gaining three precious World Cup qualifying points, before a calamity arrived in Gary Caldwell’s early sending off, triggering mayhem and disintegration and even faint humiliation in the end for Burley’s team.

The author of this particular Scottish tragedy was John Carew, about whom the Scots had almost boasted beforehand of being able to contain, but whose brawn and sheer menace once this match got under way proved to be something else entirely.

This was meant to be a special night for Gary and Steven Caldwell, brothers-at-arms at the centre of the Scotland defence, who would thwart their Viking impaler, but in the end the Caldwells were reduced to trying to rugby tackle Carew, with Gary’s red card an early price to be paid.

For the Scots, it all became a shocking spectacle, for which Burley will surely take much flak, though this was one of those games when a manager’s plans go up in smoke, with not a lot of it appearing to be anything to do with him. With Gary Caldwell off, Christophe Berra was sent on to frantically patch up the Scots, though Berra also left the pitch early, being injured after 76 minutes.

Alan Hutton, initially a right-back, also had to move to join Berra in central defence, once Steven Caldwell was substituted by Burley early in the second half, having got booked and himself being on the brink of joining his brother on a red card. Carew even had a clear goal erroneously disallowed by the referee after 66 minutes. For Scotland, this was like some ancient piece of Norse pillaging.

One of the great questions before this game was how well the Scots would cope with Carew, and the hard truth was, they couldn’t. Gary Caldwell was only asking for trouble after 33 minutes, having been booked three minutes earlier, when he pulled at Carew’s shirt as the big striker was lumbering towards David Marshall’s goal. It was a blatant foul, easily spotted by Alain Hamar, the referee, and Caldwell duly paid the price with his ordering off.

The Scotland defender’s only argument was whether he had deserved to be booked moments earlier for his challenge on Morten Gamst Pedersen, when he had appeared to win the ball with his tackle. Pedersen would go on to inflict his own pain on the Scots with two goals.

Ultimately, this game took on its own mayhem on the park, rendering line-ups and tactics almost irrelevant, yet Burley’s team selection had still bemused many. Marshall was already expected in goal, but Callum Davidson at left-back, Graham Alexander as the holding midfield player, and James McFadden dropped to the bench? The Tartan Army, already well-oiled with drink, were faintly dazed by the line-up, and the 90 minutes that followed only turned their confusion into agony.

For Burley, it all might have worked, but it didn’t, you could say due to circumstances quite outwith his control. Burley is nothing if not brazen and, just as in Iceland in September, he committed his players to an attacking 4-3-3, with Scott Brown pushing high up the park in support of Ross McCormack, Kenny Miller and Kris Commons. The selection was gutsy and, initially, Scotland fairly took this game to Norway before the roof fell in.

The anxiety had always been over Carew, in the shadow of whose 6ft 5in frame both Caldwells appeared scrawny by comparison. Yet before disaster struck, the Scottish brothers simply got stuck into their huge opponent, and had some early success before they were reduced to tugging and pulling at him as Carew’s menace grew.

The Scots were trying merely to survive at the back, and they took plenty of risks. After 26 minutes, Steven Caldwell’s tackle on Carew in the box came within an inch of being a penalty. The Norwegians shrieked for the decision — arguably, having a case — yet the referee didn’t even have the courtesy to award them a corner, let alone a penalty. Hamar, however, would soon see Norway right.

Scotland may have been brave, but they also lived dangerously. Following that Carew incident came an amazing miss from John Arne Riise, who, meeting Erik Huseklepp’s cross, wafted his shot high over Marshall’s bar. It was an early let-off for Scotland, but they would soon be severely wounded.

Two yellows in two minutes — first for a foul on Pedersen, then on Carew — did for Caldwell. Whatever the rights and wrongs, Riise grabbed his opportunity, blasting the resulting free kick and watching it deflect off Brown and past the bewildered Marshall.

After their promising start, it was a shocking double-blow for the Scots within the space of three minutes.

It only got worse. With Berra on for McCormack, and Burley and Scotland frantically trying to regroup as ten men, Pedersen sped in to score Norway’s second goal. Taking flight down the right and cutting past two opponents, Huseklepp fed the Blackburn Rovers winger, who turned and curled his shot beyond Marshall and inside the goalkeeper’s left post. It was a deft finish, and it pretty much finished off the Scots.

The rout was completed after 59 minutes when Huseklepp made it 3-0, Carew’s shot having beaten Marshall but rebounding off both posts. Pedersen then curled a free kick beyond Marshall with a minute remaining.