A Nations League campaign which long since looked to have crashed and burned climaxed for Scotland in the most dramatic of fashion with Andy Robertson’s stoppage time header in Poland. Three straight defeats had left Scotland pointless at the bottom of the table, and despite some positive signs during each match, there seemed no way back for Steve Clarke and his side. An instant exit from League A appeared inevitable.
Even an improved showing at home to Portugal last month, which garnered a 0-0 draw, looked too little, too late. There were optimistic noises coming from the Scottish camp we could still claim second spot, but they felt like little more than the kind of pre-match sparring often heard during such news conferences. Few outside observers would have shared their confidence, but the national team rose to the challenge, and very nearly pulled it off.
John McGinn’s late winner against Croatia raised our hopes, and crucially restored the self-belief which must have eroded significantly over the past year – a draining period during which Scotland had won a single game out of 16. Now there was tangible reward for another better display, and the squad headed to Warsaw in a determined frame of mind. That shone through in the early stages at the PGE Narodowy Stadium, and the Scots might easily have added to McGinn’s opener before having to withstand a Polish barrage.
In what was one of the most entertaining games of the season, the Poles equalised and could have gone.
