Let's not try to put a downer on it.
But here’s the thing about the wonderful mayhem that was let loose inside Hampen last night as Scott McTominay fired a second double inside four days to floor the mighty Spain. All of sudden Steve Clarke and Scotland are not our little secret any longer. Now all of Europe knows what the national boss has been up to all this time.
Up until last night, Clarke had been quietly going about all his good work but pretty much behind closed doors, such has been the lack of interest away from his own back yard. But this? This changes everything. This was the night that Clarke’s team sent out a message of the manager’s intent, like a shockwave thundering across the continent from the centre of football’s universe.
Yes, they’ll tell you Spain weren’t up to much. That the former World Cup and European champs, if not in terminal decline, are in a state of transition. And, true, some of that cannot be denied. But, most importantly, there can now be no mistaking Scotland’s return as a credible force to the international scene. Last night’s performance underlines the gigantic strides this team have taken under Clarke.
They were heroes to a man in dark blue shirts and they did to the Spaniards what they have been doing to the rest of us over these last couple of decades. One glance at the Group A table sees Scotland sitting three points clear of the top seeds and five ahead of Norway after just two games. If this doesn’t feel like our time is coming then perhaps it never will.
The truth is Scotland had bagged a win before the ball had even been kicked. Norway, Haaland-less again and leaving another couple of points behind on the road, this time in Georgia, handed Clarke the perfect pre-match pick-me-up.
All that was required of the manager now was to put together a team selection and a tactical strategy capable of withstanding whatever the Spaniards could throw at it. Easier said than done? Perhaps. In from the start came Lyndon Dykes, McTominay and Ryan Christie – the three game-changing subs from the weekend.
Spain, on the other hand, made eight changes after Saturday’s 3-0 win over the Norwegians – a result which sounded a great deal more convincing than the actual performance. Clarke’s players started brightly and with plenty of purpose, which heightened the sense of anticipation under the lights.
And then, just six minutes in, lift-off was accomplished as McTominay picked up from where he’d left off on Saturday. True, it took a horrible slip from Pedro Porro to expose the Spanish defence but as soon as the Spurs full-back had face-planted, Andy Robertson was scrambling all over him like a rash to nick possession and hit the byeline.
The skipper had composure to pick out McTominay with a precision cut-back and, although Inigio Martinez threw his body into the line of fire, he couldn’t keep the Manchester United’s man’s first-time effort from crashing past keeper Kepa into the net.
This really was the stuff of dreams and it could have got even better in 14 minutes when John McGinn pulled one out of the air, rolled his man with his backside and sent Christie off on a scampering raid over the half-way line.
With the red sea parting in front of him, Christie made it all the way to the edge of the box before one sloppy touch forced him into a rushing a shot which he jabbed wide of the target with the toe of his left boot.
From that moment on it was hell-fire, as temperatures soared on a chilly Glasgow spring night. Yes, veteran striker Joselu was making himself a handful amidst the chaos – if he tried to find the net with one header then it was probably four or five. And there was a heart-in-the-mouth moment when Roberston collided with panto villain Porro, sending him to the floor with a jolt of his shoulder.
But things were now so heated that even VAR stayed well out of it and Robertson got away with a yellow card from Swiss ref Sandro Scharer, who was also struggling to stay in control as tempers flared all around. Man City colossus Rodri also thumped a header over as the pressure intensified and Angus Gunn made his first proper save in a Scotland shirt when he tipped Porro’s 20-yarder over.
Amid all of this bad blood and clattering chaos, it was Scotland who came closest to scoring again before half-time.
Kieran Tierney launched one over the top and Dykes muscled on to the end of it, rag-dolling a defender on his way before lobbing Kepa but also clearing the keeper’s bar. Ref Scharer had had enough though. He stayed inside at the break, replaced by fourth official Lukas Fahndrich. It was unclear if his hamstring had gone or just his bottle.
Spain also made changes with Dani Carvajal sent on for poor old Porro and Nico Wiliams replacing Mikel Oyarzabal. But, if this was the rescue squad, then their timing was abysmal. Within five minutes of the restart, the size of task had been doubled.
This time Tierney did the damage with a rampaging 70- yard burst down the left flank, shrugging off Carvajal like a dose of Spanish tummy, before whipping a cross into the danger area. The ball was deflected out to the edge of the box by a Spanish toe but only as far as the onrushing McTominay who met it with one swing of his left boot to send it flashing into the bottom corner of Kepa’s net – and beyond the boundaries of the wildest of Scottish dreams.
Moments later, when McGinn’s free-kick rattled off Spain’s bar, it did begin to feel as if anything might be possible out there.
It was just that kind of night. In the end, though, Scotland settled for just the two. It might well be our time. But no one likes a show-off.
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