In a week when an online streaming service paid an unfathomable sum of money to broadcast a sham of a contest with nary a punch thrown, it is a shame that not one broadcaster ponied up the relative pittance it would have taken to showcase a proper old-fashioned slugfest from Warsaw.
An early John McGinn goal was answered on the hour by a stunning Kamil Piatkowski strike into Craig Gordon’s top corner, but Scotland somehow picked themselves up off the canvas once more as captain fantastic Andy Robertson headed home at the death.
Three straight defeats on the end of a horrendous run had left Scotland needing a miracle against the Poles to claim second place in their section, but the Tartan Army travelled in hope nonetheless after an upturn in form and fortunes. The Scots gave it their all, alright.
Here are the talking points after an absorbing contest in Warsaw.
Andy Robertson joins the greats with heroics on 80th cap
The Scotland captain has been a fantastic servant for his country, and he brought up a significant milestone as he earned his 80th cap here, drawing him level with Darren Fletcher as the joint-third highest cap holder of all time. Only Jim Leighton and Kenny Dalglish are now ahead of him in the pecking order.
It was fitting that he marked the occasion with a quite brilliant header into the top corner in the dying moments of an absorbing contest, popping up to give Scotland a win that they deserved for their sheer heart alone.
No one epitomised that more than Robertson. His contribution is often underestimated, if not overlooked entirely, but the Liverpool man can be rightly proud of his Scotland career to date, and will hope to lead the national side to further success in the future.
What it all means
The days of trannies being glued to ears may have been replaced by Twitter feeds being frantically refreshed, but the tension was still palpable on a night where all sorts of permutations were possible.
With the scores tied at 1-1 in the second half and Portugal leading Croatia, a goal for Scotland would have taken it to the ninth tiebreaker rule to decide who would finish in second place.
Alas, the thrilling win could only drag Scotland up to third place in the group after Croatia drew with Portugal, earning a play-off to remain in the ‘A’ section that will be played in March. Barring a win for Georgia over Czechia or a win for Estonia over Slovakia on Tuesday night, they will also be in pot three for World Cup qualification.
Still, they will go into both of those assignments with a fair wind at their backs after this latest impressive performance.
Ben Doak thrills again
Steve Clarke, you old cad you. Who says the Scotland manager doesn’t have a sense of humour?
He certainly had the nation going with his bit of kidology prior to this game that the name on every member of the Tartan Army’s lips, Ben Doak, might not make the starting XI.
There he was though on the teamsheet, much to the relief of the nation. And within minutes, he made a telling contribution, showing the awareness to lift his head and pick out McGinn at the edge of the box to sweep the ball home.
Though, it would be remiss not to note the role of Billy Gilmour, who sliced open the Polish defence with a brilliant line-breaking pass to find his winger in the first place.
Doak was almost in again moments later, and then he produced a moment of brilliance as he skinned Zalewski and was desperately unlucky not to have a teammate read his low cross into the box through the legs of a Polish defender.
The Scottish defence had a spell under the cosh after that, but every time they could find Doak on the right, he not only offered respite with his ball carrying ability, but he had the Poles like rabbits staring into headlights.
If Clarke had gained favour by starting Doak, he drew the fans’ ire by withdrawing the youngster with 25 minutes to go with the Scots needing a goal, as tired as he may have been. Polish wing back Nicola Zalewski was certainly relieved to see the back of him.
McGinn back to his best
It’s incredible to think there were doubts creeping in before this double header about the man who was long the darling of the Tartan Army before Doak burst onto the scene.
There was never any doubt about the place that McGinn holds in the affections of the Scotland support, and two goals in the last two games now also have him in the top five goalscorers in the national team’s history, edging out Ally McCoist on 20 goals.
Over and above the brilliantly composed finish he produced in the opening minutes, McGinn appears to have rediscovered his mojo, putting his famous posterior to good use to protect possession, but also driving with the ball to great effect as he once routinely did in the dark blue of his country.
When Scotland have tasted success in the last few years, an in-form McGinn has been right at the heart of it, and it is so good to see him back at the top of his game for the national side.
John Souttar a rock at the back
Another positive to glean from this campaign has undoubtedly been the form of Rangers centre back Souttar, who backed up solid showings against Portugal and Croatia with another standout display at the heart of the Scotland defence.
Yes, the Poles had chances, but Clarke trusted his defenders to operate with little protection in front of them, and Souttar led the backline manfully in doing so.
His reading of the game was superb, with the moment he tucked in behind Craig Gordon to clear off the line early in the second half the perfect example of his diligence.
His wonderful cross for Robertson’s late winner was the icing on the cake.
