PURE EUPHORIA
Gilmour joy sums up a game we’ll never be able to forget
MEMORIES that will last a lifetime. Moments and images guaranteed to be embedded in the grey matter of everyone fortunate enough to have been present at one of the definitively great Hampden nights.
From the laugh-out-loud sight of stewards twirling hi-viz jackets over their heads in wild celebration, to the luminescent joy writ large across the faces of so many in the 50,000-strong crowd, the senses were under full-frontal assault until long after the final whistle had sounded on Saturday.
Post-match, with head still spinning, you could then indulge in endless replays of Ally McCoist’s masterfully manic co-commentary verdict on Scott McTominay’s winner. Watch and re-watch highlights.
And then there’s the amateur content. A couple of thousand phones capturing and then posting unexpectedly arty pictures and manic footage from a game when everything — crowd, team, even the atmospheric Glasgow rain — came together.
Throw in countless ‘Oh, did you see…’ conversations with family, friends and complete strangers doing their parental duty at Sunday-morning kids’ games across the country, and the cumulative effect could be quite overwhelming.
But one image from this panoply of snapshots and mental video clips deserves, perhaps, special mention.
It is of Billy Gilmour hirpling along the shiny-slick trackside at Scotland’s national stadium while the closing moments played out behind him.
The 20-year-old looked absolutely spent by his efforts over 90-something minutes — yet still managed a series of fist pumps and full-throated roars towards the main stand.
If we’ve all now recognised the wisdom in placing our hopes on the slender shoulders of this potentially worldclass midfielder, it’s doubly encouraging to see our faith rewarded not merely with ability — but devotion. Here is a kid who could easily afford to get a bit sniffy about national service; a fair few lesser players have done just that over the years, after all. Yet it’s impossible to imagine Gilmour ever being anything less than wildly dedicated to the cause. Young, gifted and destined for the very top of football, Gilmour (right) is now hooked on the Hampden experience. And he isn’t alone. Saturday brought out the very best in the old place, its flaws and foibles overpowered — or perhaps simply drowned out — by the sense of occasion.
Winning a game that really matters, at the sharp end of a qualifying campaign, in front of a full house, with a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time... that’s a confluence of circumstance and fate that may never happen again.
Even among those who have been down there on the pitch for big games in Scotland history, it felt special.
Former Tartan Army favourite James McFadden summed up the feeling when he spoke on BBC Radio Scotland’s Sportsound yesterday.
‘We spoke before the game about the atmosphere, the home crowd — and John McGinn having to wait until this 39th cap to experience a full house at Hampden is unbelievable,’ said McFadden.
‘I know that we’ve had Covid and we’ve had to play in empty stadiums. But that’s what it’s all about, playing for the national team, nights like that.
‘This is a team that’s been to the Euros — but that’s
their first taste of what it’s like to play at Hampden in front of a full crowd.
‘I loved being there, it was a magnificent atmosphere. But what a performance. To show that resilience to come back was great.’
Steve Clarke himself spoke in the aftermath about the part played by supporters as Scotland laid siege to the Israeli goal, with only an inspired Ofir Marciano delaying the inevitable winner.
With so many fans just so happy to be back after so long away, the din was always likely to be on the dangerous side of deafening.
Did every single Scotland player cope with the atmosphere right from the kick-off? Probably not.
But there’s a togetherness about this squad, a willingness to dig each other out of tight spots.
It was no surprise to see captain Andy Robertson taking a special interest in the first-half struggles of young Nathan Patterson.
The Rangers right-back, who also received a little on-field pep talk from club-mate and back-up Scotland goalie Jon McLaughlin moments before the second half kicked off, showed enormous maturity to more than just steady his nerves.
Patterson, Gilmour, McGinn and Callum McGregor all played with real intelligence in the second 45. And the footballing IQ of a starting XI can definitely make all the difference.
When they maintain a high tempo, they’re difficult to pin down. Doing things at pace also fires up the crowd, creating a virtuous cycle of perpetual energy.
Enough to keep them fired up and flying through tomorrow night’s less exhilarating tie in Torshavn, anyway.
That’s what playing for national team is all about... nights like this