A night that shows we’re close to the impossible dream

THE great disrupters of international football are back with a vengeance. Taking scalps, upsetting odds — and looking as dangerous as at any point under Steve Clarke’s leadership.

Long may they continue in this feisty, fighting, fired-up form. Because they’re close, so close, to doing something that few thought possible.

In beating a Denmark side pursuing a 100-per-cent record in this qualifying campaign, Scotland have secured a result guaranteed to be noticed by other nations chasing a place in Qatar.

And however tense it might have been at times, the overall performance boasted more than enough quality to cause even our fellow seeds — doesn’t that sound good? — in next Friday’s World Cup play-off draw some concern.

The reward for this win, of course, is the chance to go through the whole Hampden experience again — at least once — next March.

If the atmosphere during time added-on here last night was anything to go by, with 50,000 belting out Flower of Scotland even while play raged on, it’s going to be absolutely epic.

Don’t think your nerves are up to the strain? Hey, nobody ever said following these boys reclaim our nation’s place on the biggest stage was going to be easy. Getting back to a World Cup is meant to be hard.

It was an occasion that, fittingly, ended with the players taking their time to applaud every single supporter in attendance — cementing an already-strong relationship between this group of footballers and the fans who so desperately want them to succeed.

Aye, the game was good. But the post-match singalong was an occasion in itself, rather proving the truth behind the ‘No Scotland, No Party’ theme song favoured by so many.

Those punters had turned out in their tens of thousands, braving horrendous traffic and ignoring the lure of the sofa to march on Hampden in a spirit of celebration and optimism.

Tartan Army recruits of varying vintages — those risking staying out late on a school night, the elder statesmen fretting about making matron’s curfew, plus all ages in between — turned up in search of a result to further embolden spirits. And to make their own public declaration of support.

However this 90 minutes was to pan out, the faithful wished to make clear their appreciation for everything Clarke’s men had achieved so far.

Finishing runners-up in a qualifying section for the first time since the France ’98 campaign, a prize secured in Moldova last Friday night, was worthy of applauding. And so, yes, there was plenty of bounce about the pre-match kitsch disco.

If the current tastes in unofficial anthems continue, the SFA might want to look at rebranding Hampden as the world’s biggest Flares retro-club.

On a night when the locals ran through their entire repertoire, including baffling the visiting fans with a rendition of Doe a Deer, the chemistry surrounding this particular head-to-head suggested something slightly more edgy.

Be honest, now. Denmark have been playing the My Perfect Cousin role to Scotland’s gritty punks for as long as most of us can remember. A nation of similar size to our own, they’ve endured the odd slump over the past four or five decades. But they’ve been far outweighed by the peaks ascended during that time.

So they swanned in with their hair and their teeth, their perfectly colour-coded block of supporters waving identical flags. In their shoes, we’d be not just smug but insufferable.

Their fans played their part in generating atmosphere at a stadium that, for all its faults, never fails to rise to the occasion.

Everyone goes on about the roar but, of late, there’s been another sound associated with this dear old ground. It’s a sort of buzzing hum indicative of mounting excitement. A pre-roar, if you like. And it can be heard whenever certain players get on the ball.

Super John McGinn. The young crown prince himself, Billy Gilmour. And, increasingly, Che Adams.

There were times in the opening half-hour here where he created something out of next to nothing for Scotland, simply by putting himself in dangerous areas and competing.

He was vital in helping Scotland gain a foothold during an early spell of Danish pressure. A constant threat who might have opened the scoring himself midway through the first half.

Scotland certainly earned the lead through John Souttar.

They had been threatening, energetic and, in the swift counterattack that led indirectly to the set-piece goal, a number of players — especially Ryan Christie — displayed genuine quality.

Scotland seemed to sit on that lead to a degree, actively taking on a more passive role, if that makes sense.

When Adams broke free to score that second late on, the cries of relief nearly took the roof off.

And just think. We get to do it all again, taking our place alongside the likes of Portugal and Italy in the roped-off VIP area of next week’s draw. It feels nice.

But even that’s just a sample of what it would be like to actually make it to Qatar…