Scotland beat North Macedonia 2-0 for Pocognoli's first win

Scotland beat North Macedonia 2-0 in Skopje on Saturday to give Sebastien Pocognoli his first victory as national team head coach. Kieron Bowie scored early and John McGinn added a second-half penalty, while Scott McKenna's late dismissal left the visitors to complete the Nations League match with 10 men. Sky Sports reported that the win came in Pocognoli's third game in charge.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcG2eaEdbFc

Bowie's seventh-minute opener was his first senior international goal. According to BBC Sport's match report, Billy Gilmour found the forward near the edge of the penalty area, where he controlled the ball before driving a left-footed shot into the bottom corner. The breakthrough ended Scotland's run of 428 minutes without a goal across all competitions and gave them a lead they never surrendered.

Captain Andy Robertson marked his 100th appearance with victory, although he was unable to add a goal to the occasion. Sky Sports reported that home goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski denied him early on, while further opportunities fell to Bowie and Ben Gannon-Doak before half-time. Scotland reached the interval only one goal ahead despite repeatedly threatening the North Macedonia goal.

Two video reviews shaped the second half. An initial penalty award after Gannon-Doak went down was overturned, but Scotland later received another spot-kick following a Bojan Miovski handball. Sky Sports reported that McKenna had hit the post during the sequence leading to that decision. McGinn converted in the 69th minute, sending Dimitrievski the wrong way to establish a two-goal cushion.

McKenna received a straight red card in the 83rd minute, forcing Scotland to protect their advantage short-handed. BBC Sport reported that they nevertheless preserved their clean sheet, their sixth in seven away matches across all competitions. Scotland also registered 24 shots, their highest total in a competitive away fixture since facing Gibraltar in October 2015.

The result leaves Scotland on four points from three Nations League matches, level with Slovenia, according to BBC Sport. The teams meet at Hampden on Tuesday. For Pocognoli, the immediate outcome was a first win, with goals in both halves securing three points despite the late reduction to 10 players.