When any win would do, Scotland delivered one the hard way. Steve Clarke’s tenure is off to the winning start that was necessary, even if his side were unconvincing for long spells of this encounter. Onwards to Belgium, where Clarke will hope for an improvement in standards if his team are to pull off a shock.
Oliver Burke was the Scottish hero with a late winner after Cyprus threatened to spoil Clarke’s debut by levelling four minutes from time. Whether or not the hosts deserved their victory appeared immaterial amid the joy of the moment. Clarke is off and running.
“The players showed character and resilience,” said the Scotland manager. “It would have been easy for them to feel sorry for themselves when Cyprus scored but they didn’t. That bodes well for future. They gave us three points in a game that came with big pressure. We knew if we didn’t get maximum points, this group was almost beyond us.”
There seemed no cause for those within the Scotland starting XI to enter this fixture bereft of confidence. Andy Robertson won the Champions League with Liverpool last Saturday, Celtic’s James Forrest and Callum McGregor played key roles in another domestic treble while Kenny McLean and John McGinn achieved promotion to the Premier League. Ryan Fraser has been linked with some of England’s biggest clubs.
Perhaps surprisingly there was no starting spot for Scott McTominay, although the Manchester United midfielder’s defensive attributes may be better suited to Tuesday evening in Brussels. One thing Clarke does not lack is midfield resource.
That Cyprus were perfectly comfortable on the ball was the most notable feature of an early phase during which Scotland toiled to find rhythm. The home support was largely understanding of this – the latest demonstration of the public relations victory achieved by the Scottish FA in hiring Clarke.
But for all their tidiness Cyprus, albeit tidy, failed to create, save an Andreas Makris effort comfortably held by David Marshall. Scotland’s response arrived with a Charlie Mulgrew free-kick, batted away by Urko Pardo, with Eamonn Brophy heading wide from the resultant corner.
Scotland were denied a clearcut 39th minute penalty when Ioannis Kousoulos used an arm to block a cross, and the decision was almost rendered doubly significant as Marshall was forced into a fine stop from Pieros Sotiriou.
Traces of booing were audible from the stands as the half-time whistle blew. There was further disquiet as Cyprus pressurised the Scots in the second period’s early exchanges. Makris should have done better having evaded the Scotland central defence only to shoot tamely into Marshall’s hands from distance. That Russia had already dismantled San Marino and Belgium were cantering to victory against Kazakstan in Group I’s other fixtures hardly lightened the Hampden mood. Having slumped to an appalling defeat in Kazakhstan, Scotland were already playing catch-up.
Just when Scotland needed something outstanding, it came – and there was no shock at all about who supplied it. Robertson, whose fairytale journey from playing as an amateur at Hampden for Queen’s Park shows no sign of halting, collected a square pass from McGinn and from 20 yards lashed the ball into Pardo’s top-left corner. It was a goal of a quality so desperately missing from the previous hour.
A Makris shot 13 minutes from time spun off Scott McKenna with Marshall having to tip over. Fraser soon fed Stephen O’Donnell and the Kilmarnock man clipped his shot agonisingly wide of the post.
Soctland’s wastefulness and horrendous defensive generosity looked to be costly when Kousoulos was afforded a free header at a corner and made no mistake. Instead Burke, whom Scottish fans have looked towards with great hope for years, claimed the winner at the second attempt after his own header rebounded from a post. Fraser had been the provider with an excellent cross.
Sighs of relief arrived in equal levels to celebration. “There’s lots to work on, for sure, but let us just enjoy the win,” said Clarke. It seemed a fair enough request.