Scotland were arguably lucky to get away with only a 2-1 defeat. Specifically, the Slovenes created 4 big chances to Scotland’s 2. Further, with the hefty reward of a pot 2 Euro qualification seeding at stake, the Scots blew it with a lacklustre performance. The Scotland Slovenia player ratings below are an average from 3 different stats sites.
Angus Gunn, average rating 5.70
Gunn’s stats include an xGOT faced of 0.81 when conceding 2 goals. In other words, the stats people calculate he should have prevented 1.19 goals that he didn’t. After 3 previous games in this international break & questions asked about Gunn’s performances, should Pocognoli have started Scott Bain last night instead? Or more realistically in the absence of a time machine, should Pocognoli seriously look to start Bain in the November internationals?
Stephen Welsh, average rating 6.87
A very impressive 15 passes into the final 1/3rd by Welsh is surpassed on either side only by Gilmour’s 16. Further, 61/71 gives Welsh 86% successful passes. Additionally, his 3 defensive contributions is equal with Christie, Ferguson, Gilmour & Gunn, & lower than McBurnie & Hendry (4), Binks (5) & Gannon-Doak (7). He also made 1 recovery & won all 3 of his duels. Welsh, however, subbed off after 66 mins for Aaron Hickey.
Jack Hendry, average rating 7.03
A return to the side after his one match suspension for his red card a week ago in the defeat by Switzerland. A busy night for Hendry with 106 touches being highest on the park. As mentioned above, he made 4 defensive contributions. Hendry made 85/92 (92%) accurate passes, 1 recovery & won 6 of his 9 duels. 5 of his passes were into the final 1/3rd.
Luis Binks, average rating 6.57
Binks was one of many last night not to attain their high ratings of previous performances in this international break. However, he made 4 recoveries, 5 defensive contributions & won 6 of his 8 duels. 63/71 gives him an 89% accurate pass rate. 6 of his passes were into the final 1/3rd.
Ben Gannon-Doak, average rating 6.47
Surprising figures for a player so widely perceived primarily as an attacker. Gannon-Doak’s 7 defensive contributions is 2 higher than any other Scot who played. Specifically that was 2 tackles & 5 clearances. He also made 3 recoveries.
Gannon-Doak though was the only Scot to be dribbled past, something he endured 3 times & more than anyone else on either side. Also, he won 5 out of 12 duels & was successful in only 1 of his 3 dribbles. Further, he delivered 29/36 (81%) accurate passes & 1 out of 3 accurate crosses. Gannon-Doak subbed off after 73 mins for Findlay Curtis.
Lewis Ferguson, average rating 6.70
So Ferguson is human after all? Specifically, he usually posts consistently above 7.0 ratings. Hence 6.7 by his lofty standards is a sub-par day at the office. Was he dragged down by an overall lacklustre team performance? Or is an effectively performing Ferguson an essential platform for any successful performance by the team?
He had 79 touches of the ball & delivered 72/76 (95%) accurate passes. 11 of his passes were into the final 1/3rd, only lower than Gilmour & Welsh for the Scots. He also made 3 defensive contributions (2 tackles & 1 clearance), 2 recoveries & won 3 of his 6 duels.
Billy Gilmour, average rating 7.13
Gilmour had 102 touches of the ball making 76/90 (84%) accurate passes. Only he & Hendry (106) among the Scots had more than 80 touches of the ball. Further, 16 of Gilmour’s passes were into the final 1/3rd, more than anyone else on either side. He also made 3 defensive contributions, 6 recoveries & won 3 of his 5 duels. Pocognoli’s decision to get the on form Gilmour further up the park in this international break is vindicated.
25-year-old Gilmour now has 50 SMNT caps & is the youngest player to reach that milestone, taking that record from Paul McStay.
Andy Robertson, average rating 6.40
A 101st cap for the captain, now only 1 behind Kenny Dalglish in the SMNT all time list. Robertson rightly post match highlighted the unenergetic performance of the team.
He attained 45/50 (90%) accurate passes, 5 recoveries & 1 defensive contribution. 9 of his passes were into the final 1/3rd, 4th highest of any Scot. However he lost both of his duels & contributed a sub-par 1 accurate cross from 5.
John McGinn, average rating 6.40
37 touches for McGinn & 21/25 (84%) accurate passes, 2 recoveries & 1 defensive contribution. He also won 6 of his 9 duels. His 2 shots at goal is equal highest with Bowie of any Scot. McGinn subbed off in 87 mins for Robbie Ure.
Ryan Christie, average rating 7.73
44 touches by Christie included most tellingly his close range, back heeled goal. He also won 5 of his 8 duels & attained 20/25 (80%) accurate passes. 7 of those passes were into the final 1/3rd. His 7 recoveries is the highest of any Scot who played. He additionally made 3 defensive contributions. Christie subbed off in 72 mins for Josh McPake.
Oli McBurnie, average rating 7.13
McBurnie had 1 shot at goal (as did Binks, Hendry, Gilmour, Gannon-Doak & Curtis). His xG of 0.76 means he & Christie are the only Scots with above 0.17 for that particular metric. Further, he had 8/10 (80%) accurate passes from 20 touches. He also won 4 of his 7 duels & made 4 defensive contributions. McBurnie subbed off after 66 mins for Kieron Bowie.
Substitutions
| On | Average rating | Time of subbing | Off |
| Aaron Hickey | 6.47 | 66 | Stephen Welsh |
| Kieron Bowie | 6.40 | 66 | Oli McBurnie |
| Josh McPake | 6.67 | 72 | Ryan Christie |
| Findlay Curtis | 6.60 | 73 | Ben Gannon-Doak |
| Robbie Ure | Unrated | 87 | John McGinn |
Josh McPake in his 18 mins (plus stoppage time) on the pitch made 2 successful dribbles; more than any other Scot & equal highest on either side. Findlay Curtis also contributed a successful dribble, suggesting these 2 perked up the attack in their short time on the pitch. Both have a 50% successful dribble rate.
Kieron Bowie in his match time had 2 shots. However his xG is only 0.17.
Ure is unrated by stats sites due to only appearing in the 87th minute.
Debuts
Josh McPake is now a full Scotland internationalist after his maiden appearance last night. That leaves Colby Donovan, Jon McCracken & Kristi Montgomery as the only uncapped players from Seb Pocognoli’s squad at the end of this international break.
Appendix: Scotland Slovenia player ratings calculations
Starters
| Player | Average | BeSoccer | Flashscore | FotMob |
| Gunn | 5.70 | 6.1 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| Welsh | 6.87 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.8 |
| Hendry | 7.03 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 7.1 |
| Binks | 6.57 | 6.8 | 6.3 | 6.6 |
| Gannon-Doak | 6.47 | 6.7 | 6.1 | 6.6 |
| Ferguson | 6.70 | 6.9 | 6.5 | 6.7 |
| Gilmour | 7.13 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 7.4 |
| Robertson | 6.40 | 6.7 | 6.3 | 6.2 |
| McGinn | 6.40 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 6.6 |
| Christie | 7.73 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 8.0 |
| McBurnie | 7.13 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 7.5 |
Subs
| Player | Average | BeSoccer | Flashscore | FotMob |
| Bowie | 6.40 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 6.3 |
| Hickey | 6.47 | 6.7 | 6.3 | 6.4 |
| McPake | 6.67 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.7 |
| Curtis | 6.60 | 6.6 | 6.8 | 6.4 |
| Ure | Unrated | Unrated | Unrated | Unrated |
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