Masson's nightmare

Peru v Scotland, 03-Jun-78

Mike Aitken


Peru 3 Cueto, Cubillas (2)
Scotland 1 Jordan

Cordoba, Sunday - Of all the ironies to be swallowed yesterday, perhaps the one that stuck most painfully in the throat was the fact that Peru beat Scotland with the kind of play we used to think of as being traditionally Scottish.

Scotland, by contrast, tried to knock the ball about in the manner long associated with South American sides. The result was an unmitigated disaster for Ally MacLeod and his indifferently prepared side.

Where Scotland lost the match - apart from in their own despairing revival of the amateurism which has ravaged sides from Caledonia since first entering the World Cup final in 1954 - was on the flanks. The speed and skill of Munante and Oblitas was much too much for Scotland's fullbacks, the inexperienced Stuart Kennedy and the stop-gap, Martin Buchan.

This was where most of Scotland's problems began and ended. With the defence taking such a creaming, the midfield found themselves under extreme pressure and began giving the ball away in careless, neurotic fashion. No-one suffered more tragically in this respect than Don Masson.

Masson, Ally MacLeod's trigger-man, had the kind of match you would not wish on your worst enemy. The man who had conducted the destruction of the Czechs at Hampden to put Scotland on the road to Argentina was sadly at the heart of Scotland's dismal failure against Peru.

It was all the more extraordinary, then, at a point when he should have been substituted, Masson was allowed to take and miss the penalty which would assuredly have beaten Peru.

While Masson is Scotland's established penalty taker - he most recently scored against Wales in the final qualifying match at Anfield - I found it incomprehensible that he should have been allowed to take the penalty yesterday when he was so clearly struggling to find his form. The spot-kick was struck by someone who looked as if he did not believe in himself on the day.

This sad luck of professionalism was inexcusable. You simply do not miss penalties in the World Cup finals and expect to get anywhere. Scotland did miss a penalty and will again fail to qualify for the last eight of the tournament as a consequence.

I said on Friday that Scotland would look into the mirror and see the side they had to beat: as it turned out the reflection was not a pretty sight.

After doing the hard part - getting things right in the opening 20 minutes and securing an early lead - Scotland proceeded to self-destruct just as they have done so often in the past.

All the talk of winning the World Cup, all the rabid commercialisation and the extraordinary conceit of the Scots, blew up in their faces at the very first hurdle in Argentina. What is this extraordinary death wish which eats its way through Scottish teams abroad? Arrogance and a downright lack of professionalism were at the root of Scotland's 7-0 defeat by Uruguay in Basle in 1954. Some 24 years later, it seems very little has changed.

The man who will have to bear the brunt of criticism - because he took the plaudits and did it his way - is Ally MacLeod. Inevitably there will be a cry of: "Off with his head, and the sooner the better."


Certainly the manager is open to attack. His failure to go and see Peru for himself, his chopping and changing of the side in the home Internationals, his lack of foresight in planning more games for Scotland before the World Cup, must all be considered contributory factors in the failure to beat Peru. But one can hardly blame MacLeod for the failure of so many established players on the day.

Willie Johnston, the source, dried up completely. He managed to go past neither Duarte nor Diaz and didn't cross a decent ball throughout the 90 minutes. Kenny Dalglish equalled Denis Law's record number of caps for Scotland with an utterly indifferent performance, only too reminiscent of his failure to make any impact in the last World Cup in West Germany.

Up front only Jordan, the much maligned Jordan, did what was asked of him. He scored a good goal in the 19th minute and was most unlucky not to find the net again in the 60th minute when Quiroga saved spectacularly.

In midfield Scotland were a shambles. Poor Masson couldn't do anything right. Rouch only played for 20 minutes or so and Hartford was overwhelmed. Gemmill and Macari were brought on too late to make any difference.

The back four looked as awkward as one darkly feared they might. Forsyth was solid enough but, like Burns, he had a tendency to back off until the Peruvians were virtually about to step into the 18-yard area. The equalising goal two minutes before half-time came from just such hesitancy when Cubillas was allowed to dance into the box before presenting Cueto with a simple goal.

And then there were the full-backs. Kennedy simply did not look the part at this level and was shown the works by Oblitas, a player of great pace. Buchan, out of position and on his wrong side, fared little better against the probing of Munante. Rough was at least blameless in goal.

Munante and Oblitas, Sotil when he came on as substitute, Cubillas and the plucky little goalkeeper, Quiroga, were far better players on the day than anything Scotland had to offer. They were allowed room and time to impress, of course, room and time the Dutch will not give them.

If Scotland had played their natural game - the game which was good enough to beat the European champions - Peru would not be relishing the prospect of a place in the last eight. Scotland, however, played most unnaturally. They tackled like choirboys and strolled around like men on a Sunday walk. They did what they said they would not do.

We should not forget, of course, that it was two beautifully struck goals from Cubillas which provided the margin between the sides at the end of the day. Those were the moments of memorable skill in a match all Scotland will want to forget, but one from which we must surely at last learn.

• From The Scotsman of 04/06/78