Scotland eventually got their European Championship preparations off to a winning start as goals from Ryan Christie and Che Adams saw off a poor Gibraltar outfit.
It was a strange old atmosphere at the Estadio Algarve, with a thousand or so members of the Tartan Army making the trip over and rather rattling around inside the 30,000-capacity stadium.
What they saw was a training exercise in all but name, with the match more remarkable for the bucketload of chances Scotland missed than anything else.
Here are the talking points as the countdown to Germany began in earnest…
STEVE CLARKE TAKES CHANCE TO EXPERIMENT
Clarke had hinted at fielding an unfamiliar line-up for the first of his two warm-up games, but there were more of his main men in the team than might have been expected. That may have inspired as much fear in the Tartan Army as it did confidence, given the way that Scottish players have been dropping like flies through injury lately.
The Scotland manager took the chance to try out a 4-2-3-1 formation, departing from his usual 3-4-2-1. There was a debut for Ross McCrorie (more on him later), and James Forrest came back into the fray for the first time since the opening game of the last European Championships.
Later in the game, he went to a 4-4-2, deploying Adams up top alongside Lawrence Shankland. He responded with a thumping finish Scotland’s second goal after fine set up play by John McGinn.
Whether we see any of this in the Euros remains to be seen. The Finland game on Friday night be a more accurate reflection of how Scotland will line up at the Allianz, but it is good to know there are more strings to the bow.
SCOTS HAVE TO BE MORE CLINICAL
Scotland have developed an unwelcome habit of late of squandering big chances, with the recent friendly against The Netherlands a remarkable exhibition of their profligacy. They were at it again here, with Christie, Grant Hanley and James Forrest all missing sitters inside the opening quarter of an hour.
Kenny McLean then missed a header from six yards, Lawrence Shankland ballooned one over, Hanley had another header saved from point-blank range, and then the centre-back shanked one wide with his shin from three yards. The wrong man continually getting into the right place.
All of that meant that the Scots remarkably went in at half time level, despite keeper Zander Clark picking up a cap for contributing about as much as I did from the press box.
Hanley was replaced by Liam Cooper at the interval, with the Leeds United man picking the baton straight up and putting a free header over the bar from 10 yards.
After 58 minutes of huffing and puffing, Scotland eventually blew the Gibraltar door down, as a clever ball from Andy Robertson picked out Christie at the back post, and after a spot of deliberation with Shankland, he thwacked the ball into the top corner from six yards.
Scotland got away with their carelessness in front of goal here, as they were always likely to, but in what was hardly a pressure cooker atmosphere, their anxiety when it came to their finishing was concerning. They won’t get so many bites at the apple when it really matters in Germany.
MCCRORIE GROWS INTO DEBUT
The Bristol City man has been handed his opportunity due to the injury misfortunes of Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson, and some nerves were perhaps expected given it was his first run out for the national team.
After all the talk of his suitability for the right wingback role, he was deployed here as a conventional full back in a flat four. Well, in a manner of speaking. So deep did the Gibraltar side sit in that he was in their half for the most part.
He looked nervy at first and often took the safe pass, but he grew into the game and showed impressive athleticism on occasion, suggesting he might be able to be a worthy replacement.
JAMES FORREST OFFERS SOMETHING DIFFERENT
The Celtic winger has come from nowhere to earn his first cap in three years at the most opportune moment, and he showed enough here to suggest that he could offer Scotland a different dimension going into the Euros.
He linked up well with Robertson on the left, tucking inside and finding pockets of space where the Liverpool man, more often than not, could pick him out. He played a part in the opening goal with a direct run in behind, and his presence in the squad will allow Clarke to be more flexible in the tournament if it is required.
INJURY CURSE STRIKES AGAIN
Ok, Leeds United captain Cooper might not be the first name on the Scotland teamsheet, but it was still a real concern to see the big man hobble from the action after coming on as a half time substitute.
It looked as though it may be a hamstring issue, which would be a devastating blow for the 32-year-old after a season at club level that was also hampered by injury woes.
Unlike the loss of Lyndon Dykes, there are enough like-for-like replacements for Cooper within the squad to compensate for his absence should the news be less than positive. And after all the debate over who Clarke may cut from his squad, the decision may just have been made for him.
