Memorable night proof Clarke is our Special One

CALM and composed in pretty much everything he does, Steve Clarke doesn’t strike you as being a particularly emotional man. He doesn’t quite fall into the same mould of a Victor Meldrew, but the Scotland boss is certainly economical with displays of personal euphoria. Put it this way, if he was a golfer, you’d never know whether he had just shot a round of 65 or 85. Or, if he turned his hand to poker, he’d probably win a fortune. Stern-faced, with a furrowed brow, his expression rarely changes. Yet, just before seven o’clock on Saturday night, something happened. As Scott McTominay bundled the ball into the back of the net, Clarke lost himself in the moment. Off he went, running beyond the technical area and along the Hampden touchline. It was reminiscent of his old mentor Jose Mourinho with Porto at Old Trafford. Certainly, there’s no doubt that Clarke was the Special One in the eyes of the Tartan Army. Let’s just say the first half on Saturday didn’t quite go to plan and leave it at that. Whatever Clarke said to his players at half-time, however, worked a treat. As for the new long-term contract handed to him in August by the SFA? Worth every penny after a team talk which kept our World Cup dream alive and kicking. This was a victory for the ages. A healing elixir to banish those awful memories of empty stands and soulless football which plagued us for so long. So, too, those grim nights in 2019 when barely 20,000 fans turned up at Hampden for games against San Marino and Kazakhstan. This was the antithesis to all of that. Hampden had a beating heart once again, a body of 50,000 fans bursting with pride, and a sense of flair and drama that would be the envy of any scriptwriter. By the end of 90 pulsating minutes, no area of the emotional spectrum had been left untouched. All that was left was the encore, and for a nation to get its boogie on. Quite rightly, the players and the supporters revelled in the celebrations. They came together as one and it felt like the whole stadium was just completely united. It’s been a long time since we were able to say that about Hampden. In terms of pure euphoria, you would have to go back to those two free-kicks from Leigh Griffiths against England in 2017. In all my life, I have never — ever — heard a noise quite like it in a stadium when the second of those free-kicks hit the net. Yeah, it was loud after the first one. But the sense of anticipation around the second one — ‘can he do it again?’ — was palpable. The noise when it flew past Joe Hart was genuinely unlike anything I’ve ever heard in a stadium, both as a player and going to games as a fan. But, ultimately, you have to remember that night ended in disappointment for us when Harry Kane scored that last-gasp equaliser after Griffiths had put us 2-1 up. In the end, it actually felt like a defeat for Scotland. It was a punch in the guts — which is why I would put Saturday night’s win over Israel ahead of it. This was Hampden’s best night since we beat France — Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Co — in a Euros qualifier in 2006. Gary Caldwell got the winner that night and I’m pretty sure the noise would have been similar to the last-gasp heroics of McTominay at the weekend. These are the special nights that make young kids fall in love with supporting the national team. For all those inside the stadium, their first experience of the Hampden roar is something they’ll never forget. Part of me can’t help but think back to the Euros earlier this summer. What difference might a full Hampden crowd have made in those games against Croatia and the Czech Republic? We’ll never know. But what we do know is that Scotland now need to back it up against the Faroe Islands tomorrow night. These are the types of fixtures that have long been problematic for us. Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Macedonia, the Faroes; we’ve had some horrible nights against these teams over the years. I was in the team which lost 1-0 to Macedonia in the scorching Skopje heat in 2008 as George

Burley’s reign got off to a terrible start. That’s the sort of horror result which Clarke and his players must now avoid over these next two away games against the Faroes and Moldova. With a four-point cushion in second place, Scotland know that victory over the two minnows will make the final game against Denmark at Hampden irrelevant. A play-off spot would already be secure. Looking back at that Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, there are lessons to be learned in the Caldwell strike against France. It was followed by a James McFadden winner in the return fixture in Paris — yet Scotland still didn’t qualify despite beating the World Cup finalists home and away. The victory in Paris was followed by a crushing 2-0 defeat in Georgia just a month later. So let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet. For all the euphoria of Saturday night, there’s still a job to do. But there’s no doubt Clarke now has all the right tools at his disposal. Scotland had the look of a very good young team on Saturday night, particularly in the second half. There was a great balance throughout the team. It’s always tough to pick out individual players after such a big performance collectively. But, for me, Billy Gilmour, John McGinn and Nathan Patterson really stood out. I also thought Lyndon Dykes (pictured) had one of his best games for Scotland, despite the fact he missed a penalty. Tomorrow’s game against the Faroes brings a different sort of pressure. Saturday was a tough game Scotland had to win. This is a game where Scotland are fully expected to win. Saturday night was great, but let’s just hope it’s a bit easier on the nerves this time.