Armenia must be kicking themselves.
So likely did they seem to receive a clear chance every time the ball landed in Scottish territory, they are surely rueing not only Kamo Hovhannisyan’s barmy red card but also their unwillingness to make any attempt to cross halfway at Hampden earlier this month.
Defensive disasters have followed Scotland around in recent matches, and if they thought they could give them the slip in Yerevan they were in for a shock.
Instead, there will be alarm bells ringing at how easily and often the back line was overrun by a side which had mustered only seven shots on target in its three fixtures to date.
Three at the back has served many Scotland managers well but it simply does not look appropriate for the squad currently at hand.
Too frequently it is resulting in centre-backs being both too high and too wide, while the full-backs, squeezed out of place in the back line, are ending up marooned and redundant in the opposition half.
Whenever – and wherever – the Scots give up possession, they are never more than one ball away from a desperate chase to avert calamity, and they could easily have conceded at least three in the first half-hour here.
That the match turned comfortably does not assuage the concern that Scotland’s defence cannot. Armenia are clearly the group’s punching bag: they have given Scotland major assistance via their surprise defeat of Ireland but unless Steve Clarke addresses his side’s frailty they are in danger of passing it up.
Though Kieran Tierney’s manoeuvrability may make some difference when he is fit, it is unwise to become attached to a system which depends upon one player’s availability to make it work. Scotland tried everything to make this game hard work; others will not be as obliging as Armenia.
Analysis: Armenian headbutt hands all three points on a plate to nervy Scotland
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