Martin to the rescue for Scots as Gordon lives to fight another day
NEVER in doubt,
eh? Scotland don’t do things easy, so it should have come as little surprise that this monumental result for Gordon Strachan came seconds from disaster.
A Chris Martin shot on 88 minutes against a stubborn and at times dirty Slovenian team will not be the goal to take Scotland to Russia for next year’s World Cup. Well, not yet anyway.
It may not even be a goal that is good enough for Scotland to claim second spot in qualifying Group F.
But the Fulham striker’s low trundling shot into the west goal on a crisp night at Hampden Park is for now enough to keep a nation’s dream alive at least for another few months, and with it surely the aspirations of Strachan.
Scotland now climb up to fourth place in the group, but more importantly just two points behind second-place Slovakia.
It was James A Baldwin who once said the most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.
It is with this in mind that Slovenia would have come to a half-empty national stadium expecting the unexpected.
What they probably didn’t bargain on was Strachan, drinking in the last-chance saloon, to make nine changes to the team which so pitifully were held 1-1 by Canada on Wednesday night at Easter Road. With the introduction of six Celtic players – including man-of-thematch Stuart Armstrong for his international debut – Strachan can now toast a gamble which eventually paid off.
Armstrong was simply magnificent in midfield next to captain Scott Brown, while the Celtic contingent can also be proud of the way 19-yearold Kieran Tierney adapted to a switch out to right-back.
The Parkhead influence had an immediate impact on a Scotland team that up until this point had scored just one goal after that World Cup
Group F opener in Malta. Where there had been reticence and hesitance before, a green and white spring propelled the hosts off to a flying start. In the second min- ute Armstrong combined with James Forrest to lay the ball off to Tierney only for his shot from just inside the box to be clawed away by Jan Oblak. That chance came just a few seconds after a Russell Martin snapshot was stopped by the Slovenian keeper on the line. Scotland were determined to spook their unbeaten visitors and the nervous crowd thought their dream start had been delivered bang on seven minutes. A Robert Snodgrass corner found Russell Martin in the box again, and the defender’s header flew into the net.
HOWEVER, the celebrations were cut to an immediate halt by Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers as he whistled for a foul on Miral Samardzic.
This setback did not deter Strachan’s team as Leigh Griffiths began to edge into what was his first start since December. A Forrest cutback pinged straight to his Celtic team-mate on 16 minutes but from 10 yards his glancing header was too weak and it flew by.
The Slovenians made their intentions to play for a draw clear here but they almost snuck an unlikely opener through the opportunistic Roman Bezjak two minutes later. The forward beat a high Scotland offside trap to scamper in on Craig Gordon but the Celtic shot-stopper stood tall to block.
Again Scotland came again. James Morrison from 20 yards saw a break of the ball only for a controlled half-volley to go an inch wide on the half hour. Then came Griffiths’ moment
of truth. The Hampden clock ticked to 35 minutes on another fast break through the heart of the pitch, this time with Robertson. The Hull full-back’s sprayed pass out left was perfect for Robert Snodgrass to chip across goal for the waiting Griffiths, but the out-of-favour Celtic man somehow smashed his volley off the bar from five yards as the goal gaped.
Still reeling from that miss, the 26-year-old would go agonisingly close a few seconds later.
Another perfect Forrest cutback found Griffiths in space to fire off a quick snapshot, only to then look on in horror as it cannoned back off the near post and back out again.
IT would turn out to be his last meaningful contribution following a collision with Oblak. A knee in the back eventually resulted in Griffiths being substituted shortly into the second half.
With his exit Scotland’s goal threat evaporated.
The introduction of Steven Naismith failed to have the same impact, with Scotland’s only real chance coming 75 minutes into the game via a tame Ikechi Anya shot straight at the keeper seconds after coming on. However, Scotland were not to be denied the goal their play deserved right at the death. With Strachan’s tenure potentially just two minutes from its completion, a run from Armstrong opened up space to slip a ball to Martin in the box.
He showed great instinct to fire off a quick left-footed shot that seemed to take an eternity to trundle low beyond Oblak to raise the Hampden roof.
It fell to Mother’s Day for Strachan to look for the daddy of all results so far in this group to turn the sweeping tide.
With England coming up to Glasgow in just under three months, only time will tell if he got it.