After Scotland suffered a disappointing start to their World Cup qualifying campaign by losing 1-0 to the Republic of Macedonia, Goal.com’s Chris Myson analyses the player performances from this afternoon’s game in Skopje.

Republic of Macedonia

Petar Milosevski - 7: Made a meal of a McFadden shot in the first half and almost conceded a penalty to the same player in the second period, but a clean sheet is a clean sheet and Milosevski will be hoping for more of the same in future games in this group.

Nikolce Noveski - 6: A quiet game, but made up solid defensive trio for the home side as they dealt with Scotland comfortably for the majority of the game.

Robert Petrov – 7: A good performance from another important component of the experienced defensive trio.

Goce Sedlowski - 8: An excellent captain’s performance from Sedlowski. Vastly experienced and marshalled the defence superbly. Created the first goal with his free-kick piledriver.

Igor Mitreski - 6: Quiet, but did his job efficiently to contribute to a good all-round team performance.

Vlade Lazarevski – 6: Similar to Mitreski, did his job and left the fireworks to the flair players in the side. Kept things ticking over and proved an important link from defence to attack.

Slavco Grozdanovski - 7: Neat and tidy in midfield as the Republic of Macedonia controlled possession for much of the match, which was crucial in the sweltering heat. Had an attempt from long-range towards the end of the game.

Velice Sumulikoski - 8: Known as the ‘Macedonian Steven Gerrard’, Ipswich Town clearly have a top player on their hands. An excellent all-round midfield display from Sumulikoski, who was so unlucky not to score when Gordon denied him with a great reaction save in the second half.

Goran Maznov - 8: A threat throughout the match, Maznov showed pace and craft to play his part in a front three that will cause problems for the defences of most international sides. Came so close to scoring in the first half but was denied by Caldwell’s goal-saving challenge.

Goran Pandev - 7: The main man for the Republic of Macedonia showed glimpses of his talent throughout the match. Had some creative moments but wasn’t quite at his best, although always had to be closely watched by the Scotland defence.

Ilco Naumoski – 8: Finished comfortably on five minutes to score what proved to be the winning goal. Always lively and at 25-years-old there could be a lot more to come from Naumoski.

Substitutions:

Vanco Trajanov – 6: Came on and was neat and tidy in midfield. Grncarov – n/a: Brought on towards the end of the game. Tasevski – n/a: On in the latter stages.

Scotland

Craig Gordon - 8: Was unlucky to concede the goal after a super initial save and made a great reaction stop from Sumulikoski in the second half. Played well but couldn’t prevent defeat.

Graham Alexander – 6: Solid defensively but offered nothing going forward, something which is required from the modern full-back.

Stephen McManus – 6: A steady effort from the stand-in captain. Allowed Maznov and Naumoski too much space at times though, which almost cost his team.

Gary Caldwell  – 7: A good performance from Caldwell highlighted by his excellent tackle to deny Maznov from scoring what would have been a second goal just before half-time.

Gary Naysmith – 6: Naysmith, an experienced international player, did not let anybody down but will know that like Alexander, he has to offer more support in attack.

Scott Brown – 5: Completely ineffective on the right-hand side of midfield. Came into the game more in the second half as he was moved into a central role, which should be where he is deployed if George Burley wants to play him regularly in the Scotland team.

Darren Fletcher – 5: After a good start to the season for Manchester United, more was expected from Fletcher. Generally failed to exert his influence on proceedings and needed to get himself more involved if he were to effect the outcome of the match.

Paul Hartley – 5: A quiet performance that resulted in a second-half substitution. Usually a reliable player for both club and county, Hartley was unable to make his presence felt in this one as the Scots struggled to keep hold of possession.

Barry Robson – 6: Improved as the game went on as he received more of the ball having been isolated in the early stages. Could have caused the Republic of Macedonia’s defence more problems if he had been able to run at pace at the three-man defensive unit more regularly.

Kenny Miller – 6: Not a lot of service, but a hard-working display as we have come to expect from Miller. Will be hoping for more opportunities to impress throughout the qualifying campaign.

James McFadden  – 7: Like Miller, struggled with a lack of service but looked more likely to create something out of nothing. Got away a few attempts at goal and should have been awarded a penalty in the second half after being brought down by the home goalkeeper.

Substitutions:

Commons – 7: Came on and looked a real threat on the wing, pushing for a starting spot. Maloney - 7: Looked lively, not scared to take players on. Boyd – n/a: Thrown on in search of an equaliser.

Ref From Chris Myson, Goal.com