'As good as it's been for Scotland for a generation' as World Cup play-off beckons
- Published
Scotland are through to the World Cup play-offs
As normal time crossed into added time on Friday night, the Tartan Army in Moldova's Zimbru stadium cannot have known what to do with themselves.
Are not the last few minutes of Scotland games meant to be as anxious as hell? Is not this the period when their faces take on that haunted look, when the desperation is writ large on their furrowed brows?
This was a relative skoosh. It's almost surreal to say that, but it was. Many had steeled themselves for a fretful trip on the big dipper but this was more like a loll about in the soft play. No need for smelling salts, no requirement for oxygen masks.
Long before the end, the visiting supporters were serenading their team secure in the knowledge that the goals from Nathan Patterson and Che Adams that put them into a commanding lead and the penalty save from Craig Gordon that protected it (and Kieran Tierney's brilliant goal-saving tackle in its wake) were the night's decisive moments. For a team that has cornered the market in late drama, Scotland, more or less, strolled into the World Cup play-offs without too much fuss.
This is Scotland's fifth straight win, the first time since 1995 that they have reeled off as many consecutive victories in competitive games. Head coach Steve Clarke is never a man to whoop and holler but his smile in the post-match chats told you what it meant to him. His team are now just two games, albeit tough ones, away from the World Cup in Qatar.
If there was a downer then it came in the shape of Patterson's booking, which will now rule him out of the Denmark game on Monday, a match that Scotland will almost certainly need a point from to guarantee a home semi-final. A knockout game at Hampden is a big prize, so Patterson will be a miss. Not only did he score the first goal and assist on the second, his performance belied the paltry amount of minutes of club football he's played in the past month. The answer is 23.
Fatalism gives way to optimism
There are other danger points on Monday when the seemingly invincible Danes come to town. Clarke needs a point but he also needs to avoid any of his players picking up a yellow card that would keep them out of the play-off semi-final.
Eight of his men are one booking away from missing that semi - Andy Robertson, John McGinn, Billy Gilmour, Jack Hendry, Scott McTominay, Adams, Kevin Nisbet and Stephen O'Donnell.
The play-offs are a new phase of the qualifying campaign but the old disciplinary records carry over. It's ludicrous. Penal and unfair. You sensed Clarke wanted to say something cutting about the inequity of the system but bit his tongue. In search of that point on Monday he has to go fully-loaded with all his top boys going hammer and tongs. There could be a price to be paid for that.
Chisinau was another night that punched holes in the wall of fatalism that has built up over the years, a self-defence barrier to keep out false hope and protect from crushing disappointment.
From early morning into late evening, the emergency vehicles belted their way up and down the Bulevardul Dacia where the Zimbru stadium sits. Lights flashing, sirens blaring, the most fatalistic members of the Tartan Army might have sensed an omen. The endless reminders of danger would not have done much for those supporters of a more nervous disposition borne out of bitter experience.
Scotland fans have carried baggage to places like Chisinau for many years. The good thing is that Clarke's team travel lightly these days. Did they look nervous? No. From the start, they looked full of running and threat. Were they made anxious by the sight of a World Cup play-off place clearly in vision? No, again. They looked energised by it.
McGinn the darling of the Tartan Army
Jack Hendry, Craig Gordon and John McGinn celebrate at full-time
Inside 17 minutes they created six chances. They were at the pitch of the game from the get-go. If they felt pressure, then they did not show it. Sure, Moldova are ranked 181st in the world and have have won only five of 66 World Cup qualifying matches, but this is precisely the type of opponent upon which the book of Scottish football heartbreak has been based.
Not this time. There was a scare but Gordon's excellence dealt with it. Then there was a goal and it was as deserved as it was delicious. McGinn's subtlety of touch was lovely. Patterson's finish would have been applauded had a top striker put it away. For a full-back with a miniscule number of playing minutes to his name this past while and who has just turned 20 to execute with such aplomb off his weaker side was quite something.
The clincher was another pearler. McGinn is the darling of the fans. They sing about him endlessly. He's reached beloved status and you can see why. There was no goal this time, but there were so many class moments. His little lay-off for Patterson for the opening goal was matched by his back-heel to the full-back who then set up Adams for the second. You have to go back a long, long way to find a Scotland player that was so revered by the supporters. To James McFadden, probably, And that was not yesterday.
The intent of the Scotland players could be seen in many ways, not just in attack but in defence. Both goals will be pored over, but Tierney's intervention after Gordon's penalty save was every bit as impressive. Clarke mentioned it in the after match.
Tierney's alertness was one thing, but his ferocity and accuracy in making the tackle that stopped a certain goal was a joy. It was a team's burgeoning spirit in microcosm. You could put it to music. The look on the faces of the Moldovan management team was priceless. They felt certain that Tierney must have fouled their man, which was a fair assumption in real time because the tackle - or The Tackle - was monstrously difficult to execute fairly. But he did it.
The closing minutes were wonderfully uneventful. Who knew that a game slowly meandering to an inevitable conclusion could feel so good. This was a professional hit. Scotland did what good sides do. They have come a long way since the first week of September when they sat in a forlorn position in the table with just one win from their first four games. The win in Austria was the game-changer, the moment when everything in this group began to turn.
Hampden will be full on Monday. We know not how strong a team the already qualified Denmark will field nor the impact the Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of so many of Scotland's key players will have on them, even subconsciously.
What we do know is Clarke's team have turned it all around, not just a qualifying group but a support, too. From disbelievers to disciples. This is as good as it's been for Scotland for a generation.