McLean puts Scots on cusp of Euro slot
Scotland hero Kenny McLean played down his role in helping his country get to the European Championships play-off final, and said goalkeeper David Marshall made it easy for him.
Following a 0-0 draw against Israel at Hampden, Derby County keeper Marshall saved their first penalty, and McLean stepped up to net the fifth in a 5- 3 win to send the Scots into a showdown with Serbia on November 12.
It was Scotland’s first-ever penalty shootout, but Norwich star McLean, from Cambuslang, was modest about his role in creating a bit of history.
He said: “It was a bit of a pressure penalty under the circumstances but I actually felt quite confident.
“Marshy had done all the hard work to get us in front at the start of the shootout, and when I went down fifth I said to him to just give me a chance to score the winner.
“I actually said to him before it and he did, so he did all the hard work. It was good to score the winning penalty but it was all Marsh.”
Scotland netted all five of their penalties, in some style, and McLean admitted it’s something they had been thinking about for some time.
“After every training session we hit a penalty each,” he said. “I’ve gone to the same side after every session, so I felt confident, when you get that practice and you get the feel for what way you’re going to put it.
“It was a good moment, for everybody involved, and it gives us a good chance.
“The result was everyting. We’ve spoken about it so much, not just this week but for a long time now, we’ve been waiting on this game, and we’re just so grateful.
“The boys put in a hell of a shift and we need to recover and go again, but right now we’ll enjoy this result.
“It has been one we’ve been looking forward to, this game, and it’s just a great feeling for everybody.”
McLean was rewarded for his efforts with a starting slot in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Slovakia at Hampden in the UEFA Nations League and tonight he could feature again when the Scots host Czech Republic in the same competition.
McLean added: “It’s a great group of boys, it’s a pleasure to be involved in situations like this; we’re so fortunate to have this chance, and we just need to do everything we can.”