Scotland dragged themselves off the canvas only to inflict the knockout blow on themselves in a topsy-turvy defeat to Poland.
Manager Steve Clarke came into this game under huge pressure, and at least the players did show that they are still fighting for him, as a stirring second half comeback looked to have earned an unlikely-looking draw.
The Poles had punished avoidable mistakes from the Scots in the first half to open up a two-goal lead.
Sebastian Szymanski struck the first blow after an error by Kenny McLean, before Anthony Ralston clumsily conceded a penalty that Robert Lewandowski tucked into the bottom corner to have the Poles sitting pretty at the break.
The scoreline was harsh on the Scots, and they came roaring back at the start of the second half to immediately claw one back through Billy Gilmour.
As time ticked on, Clarke went for broke, and he was rewarded as substitute Ben Doak played his part in Scott McTominay’s leveller.
In the dying moments of stoppage time though, Scotland still had one more calamity up their sleeves, and Grant Hanley bundled over Nicola Zalewski to allow the same player to score a heartbreaking winner at the death.
Here are the talking points from Hampden…
A squad fighting for their manager at least
Before even considering tactics, formations, personnel selections or even the eventual defeat, the one thing that has to be said that was abundantly clear at Hampden is that Clarke has not lost the dressing room.
At 2-0 down at half time, off the back of the bruising experience in Germany and a run of just one win in 12 games, it looked for all the world that Scotland would roll over.
The players though instead dug deep, roared back into the contest and showed that for all their faults, the one thing that can’t be questioned is their commitment to each other, their manager and their country.
But for the self-inflicted wounds, it could, and probably should have been a win for the Scots, but while the stirring comeback may have boosted morale, ultimately it was disappointment again.
Clarke’s evolution on view?
The embattled Scotland boss had said this week that the transition to a more forward-thinking national side under his watch would be a process of evolution rather than revolution, and while he did shift from his preferred back three, the names on the teamsheet were more than familiar.
In truth, did anyone expect anything else? The success Clarke has had has been centred around a core group that he can generally count upon, and in his hour of need he turned to them once more.
With no Callum McGregor to call upon, it was McLean who came into deep midfield alongside Gilmour, while Ryan Christie, Scott McTominay and John McGinn tried to keep in touch with lone striker Lyndon Dykes.
In fairness, the players did seem to be comfortable in the set up and were moving the ball through the pitch quite well. It was individual errors rather than tactics that cost the Scots dearly, and in fairness, there is little that Clarke can do about that.
Scots continue to shoot themselves in foot
A case in point was the Poles early opener. There was a healthy attendance inside Hampden, with the Tartan Army turning out maybe a sign that they were standing by Clarke and his side despite their underperformance at the Euros, and more likely perhaps because the ticket packages for the Nations League were sold prior to the tournament.
The atmosphere was rather muted in the home end though, with the Scots being drowned out by the well-oiled visiting supporters for the most part, and the last thing they will have wanted was to suck any more life from the home end. But they conspired to do exactly that, and it was all so avoidable.
McLean sold Gilmour short with a pass into midfield and Poland pounced. Szymanski drove forward into acres of space as the Scots backline retreated, and he took the invitation to hit a dipping, bouncing shot towards goal that seemed to deceive Angus Gunn before kissing the post and nestling into the net.
Both McLean and Gunn will be disappointed with their roles in the goal.
Mixed night for Ralston, but some late redemption
If this was a test of character for those who underperformed in the Euros, then there was nobody who was under more pressure than Ralston to show that he could hack it at this level for his country, and the Celtic right back started the match really well.
He won a couple of vital tackles, his distribution was sound, and he looked to have his chest puffed out and a point to prove.
Then, disaster struck. Zalewski drove into the box with Hanley slow to come out and engage. Ralston tries desperately to get back and succeeded only in clumsily bundling him over to concede the penalty.
The award wasn’t harsh for the challenge, but the punishment was for Scotland, with Lewandowski sending Gunn the wrong way from the spot. The Scots had been competing well and probably deserved to be level, never mind two down, but here they were.
Ralston, to his great credit, refused to retreat into his shell, and it was a great moment when he latched onto Ben Doak’s pass down the right to square for McTominay to slide home the equaliser.
And then it all comes crashing down
Just when it looked as though the Scots had redeemed themselves as a unit, their individual failings came back to haunt them in devastating fashion.
McGinn of all people was caught on the ball in the midfield, and suddenly the Poles were bearing down on the box. It looked as though Hanley had forced Zalewski wide, but a rush of blood to the head would prove costly, as the big defender inexplicably dived in and sent his opponent tumbling.
He knew straight away what he had done, and held a hand to his face along with around 40,000 others.
Zalewski rolled home the penalty, and the Scots paid the heaviest price.
