Are Friendly Matches Worthwhile?
I watched with some pleasure as Scotland conjured a 2 goal lead in last nights international friendly against Austria in Graz. In the first half, the Scots played well and were actually performing as a cohesive unit. Kenny Miller's opening goal in 3 minutes was very sweet, as was Gary O'Connor's low drive on 39 minutes. At half time, I was thinking that if they maintained that level of performance, they could slot another couple away in the second half and give the side a much needed injection of confidence in advance of the World Cup qualifier against Italy in a few weeks.
Of course, it was not to be.
In time-honoured friendly tradition, Walter Smith made big changes to the side at half time and the team that came out (despite featuring mostly the same players) were disjointed and directionless. In fact, as the second half wore on, they looked less and less like an international side. Tiredness played a part in that, but it's no excuse. Especially as Austria grew in confidence and began to look more likely to score. Which they did in the 83 minute with a shot from some 30 yards out. Okay, it took a bit of a deflection to loop the ball past Rab Douglas but the defence should not have allowed a shot from that range. Austria gained a lift from their goal and I said to myself "bet they get another goal in a few minutes."
Four minutes later, they did just that with another shot from distance. Rab Douglas's attempt to parry the shot was pathetic and Austria's sub Standfest was left with an easy header into an open net.
Now, Scotland should have won that game. And I believe they would have done if such major changes had not been made to the team in the second half. This makes me question the value of these friendly games. It is certainly useful to use these games to allow fringe players or up and coming players a chance to show what they can do. However, surely it makes more sense to play these players from the start and, as you would in a competitive game, make substitutions for tactical reasons or because of injury/tiredness. That way the team would have a better chance to gel and show what they can do by getting a result that provides a confidence boost rather than scraping a draw which will no doubt leave some players wondering how the side will cope against Italy.
By this point there are no doubt many people who are ready to scream that I am totally wrong.
Well, it wasn't just Scotland who had a bad night last night thanks to too many changes.
England suffered their worst international defeat in 25 years following a raft of half time changes. They lost 4 second half goals - 3 of them in 7 minutes - most of which were due to defensive and goal-keeping blunders. This cannot be good for English morale as the team they play next in the World Cup qualifiers is the same nation to whom they lost to 25 years ago - Wales.
So in the light of these results, are international friendlies being put to the best use?