TV Watch

Sep 7 2008 By Kevin Mcallion

HISTORY is littered with players who looked the part for their club but crumbled when they tried to step up to international level.

So all eyes were on Setanta yesterday as they pulled on the dark blue after some solid performances in the SPL.

A good first touch can settle the nerves on an international debut but Setanta took the telly equivalent of a fresh air swipe.

Their opening montage was accompanied by a dreadful version of Flower Of Scotland that sounded like a MacDonald brothers B-side.

Zero points for originality and the song's execution deserved a firing squad.

Anchorman Rob Maclean soon settled the ship from pitchside at the Gradski Stadium but would have regretted dressing in all black as temperatures soared.

Ties were wisely banished by the wardrobe department with Maclean and analyst Craig Burley clearly pining for an air-conditioned booth.

Setanta earned brownie points for giving the game a decent build-up - something Sky usually can't be bothered with.

But the choice of Burley as pundit was a curious one - given his uncle George was taking charge of a competitive game for the first time.

However, the ex-Celtic star wasn't handing out family favours and claimed there would be "no excuses" for defeat.

The scorching sun was the most obvious get-out clause if his uncle needed one and it was mentioned almost every five minutes by Setanta.

Their cameras showed the Tartan Army soaking up the rays but Maclean had a word of warning for hungover punters.

He said: "After what they got up to last night, dehydration could be a problem." Bottles of water were conspicuous by their absence though, as the kilted hordes stood to attention for the national anthems.

The Macedonians showed Setanta how to do a decent version of Flower of Scotland as a lone piper accompanied the travelling fans.

They then wheeled out a 12-year-old to sign their own song - about as far removed from Ronnie Brown at Hampden as you could imagine.

Sadly, Scotland played like old men as a Macedonia side full of youthful vigour took a deserved half-time lead.

During the break, pundit Burley claimed it would take a "huge" team talk from his uncle to turn it round.

The gaffer's words of wisdom did lead to an improvement but the only thing huge was the disappointment at fulltime. As Maclean put it, we were booted in the Balkans - and boy did it hurt.

Setanta turned in a steady display - the kind that would grind out a vital point from a tough away day.

It's a shame our boys on the Skopje pitch couldn't match them.