When Scott McKenna was sent off late in the night in Skopje, North Macedonia did something they looked entirely incapable of doing for 80-plus minutes spent buried in Scotland's collective pocket. They strung a couple of passes together, had a few shots, raised an odd cheer from their dismally small support. Fair play to them because for much of this Nations League game it looked as if they were comatose; out-played and out-fought.
Scotland, with their energy and urgency, had reduced them to the ranks of the lifeless. Skopje is a city of statues, two or three hundred of them apparently, great big things in squares and in fountains commemorating tsars and dames, emperors and warriors, royalty and revolutionaries. You could have taken any 11 of them off their perch and put them in the North Macedonia starting line-up and they'd have posed Scotland more of a challenge than the beleaguered home team managed for most of this encounter.
At one point in the first half a dog ran on to the pitch. They'd have been better off putting a shirt on his back. At least he'd have had some bite.
Scotland beat North Macedonia in Nations League for Pocognoli's first win 'It means everything' - numbers behind Robertson's 100-cap Scotland career Robertson hits 100 Scotland caps - but who else makes top 10? The scoreline does a terrible job in capturing what happened. Scotland had 25 shots to nine, 10 on target to zero.
Before McKenna walked, they had touched the ball 37 times in North Macedonia's penalty area, North Macedonia had touched it twice in Scotland's. On the night that Andy Robertson won his 100th cap, this was one of his most straightforward matches of all. A rout, if two goals can be called a rout.
Two going on four and five, maybe six on what was a poor pitch in a soulless stadium, save for the visiting fans, who made a racket, as ever. It was a good evening for the new era. Scotland were exciting, entertaining and also frustrating.
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