Scotland 3-0 Cyprus: Scott McTominay's late double secures win in Euro 2024 Group A opener
- Published
- comments
Scott McTominay's goal turned a nervy win into a comfortable one at a tense Hampden
Scott McTominay's late double secured Scotland a comfortable winning start to their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign at home to Cyprus.
John McGinn's close-range finish - the Aston Villa midfielder's 16th goal for his country - was reward for a dominant first-half display.
Substitute McTominay eased increased nervousness around Hampden with a clinical 87th-minute finish.
And the Manchester United midfielder added his second moments later.
Steve Clarke had billed it as a must-win game against Group A's lowest seeds, who ended the game with 10 men after a late red card for Nicholas Ioannou, and it was job done in that sense.
But the Scotland head coach will know that, despite their first winning start to a Euro qualifying campaign since 2006, improvement will be needed as top seeds Spain visit on Tuesday.
The dawn of new qualifying campaign brought the Tartan Army to Hampden full of optimism.
They were rewarded with a dominant first-half performance during which they were rarely under threat and probed at the Cypriot defensive wall with consistency and determination.
All that was lacking was a little more cutting edge in the vital area - directly in front of goal. That was a theme until late on, with the result still uncertain until McTominay stepped up.
Scotland's intent was clear. Get at Cyprus down the flanks, particularly the left. That pattern was fairly consistent, but the first real threat came down the other side when Aaron Hickey danced into the box and, from the tightest of angles, forced goalkeeper Demetris Demetriou into a low save at his post.
Clarke's side were cruising, comfortable on the ball and showing an impressive level of composure.
The left flank proved the route to the crucial opening goal as Stuart Armstrong fed Andy Robertson, who timed his run perfectly to stay marginally onside and cross first time. The ball deflected perfectly into McGinn's path as he instinctively raced to meet it and finish from close range to take his Scotland tally to one more than the talismanic James McFadden.
Che Adams came close after super interplay with McGinn, but his shot was tipped over and the unfortunate striker left the field early in the second half with a worrying looking injury.
The second half show dipped significantly and the creeping doubt began to emerge that Cyprus might just nick something.
Finally, though, Scotland got there - thanks to three of their own substitutes. Ryan Christie did superbly to win possession and fire in a cross ,Lyndon Dykes nodded it on and McTominay raced onto it to half-volley home.
An enormous cheer and accompanying sigh of relief engulfed Hampden before McTominay capitalised again when Robertson laid the ball into his path and he calmly dispatched it home with ease.
Player of the match - John McGinn
Who else but John McGinn? Scott McTominay's late intervention was emphatic, but McGinn was exactly where it counts at the right time to make the vital breakthrough.
Subs to rescue after standards slipped - analysis
The 3-0 scoreline adds significant and welcome gloss to the occasion. Clarke will be delighted with that but equally happy to get through this unscathed.
It became something of a struggle until very late on, but the players stayed calm and avoided a calamity.
The initial signs were very positive in the first period, with Scotland in complete control.
They were perhaps a touch cautious in getting into dangerous areas directly in front of goal, but the performance was strong and promised more as the game wore on.
That said, Cyprus were very well organised and proved sticky opposition.
The concern will be how standards seemed to slip. There was little composure in the final pass or deliveries from wide areas, but the substitutes made a significant impact to get Scotland over the line.
What they said
Clarke wants to 'focus on positive headlines' but things to improve before Spain
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke: "We spoke a lot about getting off to a good start and I thought we started the game really well. The movement, the rotation of the players, the creation of space was good. We deserved the lead at that time.
"I thought up until 30 minutes we were good and I don't know whether we went a bit casual, we switched off a little bit and Cyprus made it difficult for us. Second-half was a slightly difficult game and we slowed the game too much, but it is nice to look at the bench and bring on Scott McTominay and Ryan Christie."
Cyprus head coach Temuri Ketsbaia: "I believe we lost to the better team. Scotland deserved to win the game, well done to them. Congratulations.
"I'm disappointed that we didn't give our best. We tried to change our formation, we tried to put more offensive players. It cost us because we conceded two easy goals."
What's next?
Hampden will be rocking now as Spain visit Hampden on Tuesday (19:45 GMT), while Cyprus visit Armenia in a friendly.