Sebastien Pocognoli secured his first victory as Scotland head coach as goals from Kieron Bowie and John McGinn sealed a dominant 2-0 Nations League win over North Macedonia in Skopje.
The scoreline could have been considerably more emphatic, with home goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski producing several outstanding saves to keep Scotland at bay.
Captain Andy Robertson, making his 100th international appearance, was denied by a superb reaction stop during an energetic opening spell.
Dimitrievski also twice frustrated Ben Gannon-Doak from promising positions.
Scotland made the breakthrough after seven minutes.
Billy Gilmour found Bowie on the edge of the penalty area, and the striker controlled the ball on a difficult surface before shifting onto his left foot and driving a powerful finish into the bottom corner.
It was Bowie’s first international goal and set the tone for a match Scotland largely controlled.
Robertson continued to threaten, Gannon-Doak fired over and Bowie went close again as the visitors pressed for a second.
The action was briefly interrupted when a dog wandered onto the pitch before eventually running off.
Scotland resumed their attacking pressure after the interval, although Gannon-Doak failed to convert a clear opportunity when through on goal.
He was subsequently brought down inside the area, but an initially awarded penalty was overturned following a lengthy VAR review.
The visitors eventually did receive a spot-kick after a frantic goalmouth scramble in which Scott McKenna headed against a post.
Referee Francois Letexier reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor and penalised Bojan Miovski for handball.
McGinn stepped up and sent Dimitrievski the wrong way to double Scotland’s lead.
There was a late setback when McKenna was sent off for a rash challenge on Gjorge Dzhekov, leaving Scotland to play the closing 10 minutes with 10 men.
Despite surrendering some of their control, the visitors protected their advantage to give Pocognoli his first win.
Pocognoli repeatedly stressed the importance of the process before the match, and this performance offered clear signs of progress.
The earlier 3-0 defeat by Switzerland was difficult to assess given Scotland’s prolonged numerical disadvantage.
In Skopje, however, their command of the game and attacking intent echoed the encouraging second-half display against Slovenia in Ljubljana a week earlier.
North Macedonia’s struggles provide some context.
They sit bottom of the group and have scored only twice in their past 11 matches.
Even so, Scotland’s ability to sustain pressure on a poor playing surface was impressive, while newcomers Bowie, Stephen Welsh and Luis Binks delivered assured performances.
Discipline remains an issue for Pocognoli after his side finished with 10 men for the second successive match.
McKenna’s dismissal turned a comfortable evening into a more cautious closing spell.
Nevertheless, Scotland emerged with a deserved victory and renewed confidence before facing Slovenia on Tuesday.
