North Macedonia 0-2 Scotland: Bowie and McGinn give Pocognoli first win
North Macedonia 0-2 Scotland: Kieron Bowie and a John McGinn penalty earned Sebastien Pocognoli his first win in charge, despite a late red card for Scott McKenna.
North Macedonia 0-2 Scotland handed Sebastien Pocognoli his first win as head coach, with Kieron Bowie and John McGinn on target in Skopje despite a late red card for Scott McKenna.
Main photo: kallerna / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
It was Pocognoli’s third game in charge and the first time his side had scored. Scotland fired 25 shots, put ten on target and never allowed the hosts a single effort on goal.
It was also a special night for Andy Robertson, who won his 100th cap. The travelling fans unfurled a banner in his honour and North Macedonia’s captain presented him with a commemorative shirt before kick-off.
North Macedonia 0-2 Scotland: Bowie breaks the drought
Scotland went ahead inside the first ten minutes. Billy Gilmour found Bowie with his back to goal, and the Sassuolo striker turned and finished low into the corner for his first international goal.
The second goal took longer, and VAR had a big say in it. A first penalty award was overturned early in the second half, but a later handball by Bojan Miovski was confirmed after a review. McGinn stepped up and converted.
The only blemish came late on, when McKenna was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Agon Elezi. Scotland saw the game out comfortably with ten men.
Key stats
| Stat | North Macedonia | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 0 | 2 |
| Possession | 56% | 44% |
| Shots | 9 | 25 |
| Shots on target | 0 | 10 |
| Corners | 1 | 9 |
| Fouls | 20 | 13 |
| Yellow cards | 5 | 1 |
| Red cards | 0 | 1 |
McGinn was the highest-rated player on the pitch with 7.8, with Bowie (7.75) and Gilmour (7.7) close behind.
Pocognoli’s Scotland back in the hunt
Our North Macedonia v Scotland preview framed this as a must-win trip for the new coach. Scotland delivered, moving level on points with second-placed Slovenia in their League B group. North Macedonia’s winless run now stands at 11 games.
It was a good day for the home nations overall, with England running riot in Rijeka, as detailed in our Croatia 0-7 England report. Northern Ireland are also chasing top spot in their group, as explored in our Ukraine v Northern Ireland preview.
There has been plenty of news off the pitch in Scottish football this season too. Our sister site DGBN has reported that Celtic and Rangers must play their next home Scottish Cup ties behind closed doors.
