The kit was a classic but the fixture isn’t one that will live long in the memory. But Scotland got the only thing that mattered - a winning start to their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
And it was that man John McGinn who was the Hampden hero once again to take his impressive tally for his country to 16 as he continues to power up the scoring charts with the Aston Villa man breaking a stuffy Cyprus side’s resistance in the first half. Substitute Scott McTominay relieved any nerves with a late brace before the visitors were reduced to 10 men late on.
The challenges in Group A will get tougher - this opener was against the weakest side in the section - and Steve Clarke’s men will go from bottom to top seeds when Euro heavyweights Spain arrive in Mount Florida. But it was job done and there could be few complaints, even if they could and should have won with a bit more to spare and could have done without the injury to Che Adams who limped off in the second half and could now be a doubt for the Spaniards.
This was the first of an eight-game qualifying campaign - with Callum McGregor earning his 50th cap for his county - that Clarke and his men hope will lead to Germany and back to back European Championship finals. And it was a huge day for Angus Gunn as he was thrown straight in for a quickfire debut as he won the three-way battle to fill in for crocked Craig Gordon.
But if this game went with the respective rankings, then the Norwich City man should have been in for a quiet afternoon. And that’s how it started with the hosts on the front foot and John McGinn fired just wide from Stuart Armstrong’s cut back in a bright opening.
Aaron Hickey then had a low angled shot well saved but Cyprus broke after clearing the resulting corner and Armstrong picked up the first booking from Croatian referee Duje Strukan after halting the breakaway.
Cyprus were just starting to frustrate Scotland when the breakthrough arrived at such a crucial point. It’s no surprise it was a goal made down the left with Kieran Tierney feeding ex Celtic team-mate Stuart Armstrong who threaded a pass through for Andy Robertson and his deflected cross fell perfectly for McGinn to bulge the net.
But the Aston Villa man had to wait for confirmation of his goal with VAR checking for a possible offside at Armstrong’s ball in the build-up but it was given the green light and the Tartan Army returned to their celebrations.
That took the pressure off and it was virtually all one-way traffic after that although Demetris Demetriou didn’t have a huge amount to do in the opposition goal with a fine save from Che Adams just before the half-time about the closest Scotland came to a second before the break.
Adams was almost through on goal in the second half but Alex Gogic made a superb last-ditch tackle, only for the Southampton man to injure himself in the process. That saw him limp off to be replaced by Lyndon Dykes and is an obvious concern for the visit of Spain with the frontman integral to Clarke’s side.
Despite that injury blow, Scotland should have had a second when Armstrong played a brilliant pass to release Robertson but the skipper failed to deliver the cross needed for Aaron Hickey who was waiting for a better ball.
Nerves crept in during the latter stages with just the single goal to show but despite a couple of scares - and the impressive Hickey also going off to be replaced by Nathan Patterson and looking in some discomfort - but McTominay made sure of the win with a fine finish after fellow sub Dykes laid the ball off to him from a brilliant Ryan Christie cross and the Manchester United added another after great build-up play with Robertson setting him up. And the visitors' misery was compounded when Nicholas Ioannou was sent off for a second booking.
Here's three talking points from Hampden Park:
Magnificent McGinn
John McGinn leapfrogged fellow Tartan Army darling James McFadden in the scoring charts with his 16th goal of the season. And he’s now just two short of Kenny Miller which is quite remarkable considering McGinn is a midfielder and has played 16 games less than striker Miller who appeared 69 times for his country.
Ally McCoist will be next the Aston Villa man’s sights with 19 goals from the strike legend. There is no doubt McGinn has been the talisman for Steve Clarke with no player making more appearances than his 39 and all of his 16 goals have come during that time.
Cyprus fire blanks at Gunn
It was a huge afternoon for Angus Gunn to get thrown into Hampden for a quickfire international debut after being called up to the squad for the first time. And the fact they were up against the bottom seeds, at home, in Group A was a good fixture to kick off with. The Norwich City man eased himself into the big stage with little to do. He was relieved to see an audacious long range effort go off target and there was one moment where hearts were in mouths at Hampden as he slipped when he came to claim a ball but luckily no damage was done as he gathered at the second attempt. But it had the potential to end up on a cock-ups dvd. Proud dad Bryan was in the stand and his boy is now just five caps short of his total tally - something he might even surpass in this campaign.
Classic kit
There might be complaints about the price but it’s hard to argue the 150th anniversary Scotland kit isn’t a thing of beauty. It’s just a pity the men will only wear it once more in the autumn friendly against England. It’s a throwback to simpler strips and it’s easy to see why it’s gone down such a storm with the Tartan Army - even if the £90 price tag hasn’t - with plenty of the tops on show at Hampden Park despite many struggling to get their hands no them with the rush to purchase them when they hit the shelves.
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