Scotland keep the World Cup dream alive as late strike sinks Slovaks
● Dramatic late goal means Scots now have to win in Slovenia to seal second
Scotland’s hopes of reaching a first World Cup finals for 20 years remain on track after an 89th minute goal sealed a 1-0 Hampden victory over Slovakia – whose captain Martin Skrtel turned the ball into his own goal under pressure from Chris Martin. The Scots now face another must-win encounter in Slovenia on Sunday.
Gordon Strachan claimed he never doubted Scotland would claim the victory they needed to keep their World Cup hopes alive – despite the dramatically late nature of the precious 1-0 win over Slovakia.
An 89th-minute own goal by Slovakia captain Martin Skrtel secured the three points for Strachan’s side to lift them into second place in Group F.
Victory against Slovenia in Ljubljana on Sunday evening will now almost certainly be enough for Scotland to progress to the qualification play-offs next month and the chance to reach next summer’s finals in Russia.
Scotland played for almost 70 minutes against 10 men after Slovakia’s Robert Mak was sent off for two bookable offences in quick succession, the second a blatant dive in a bid to win a penalty.
Strachan’s side looked destined to be frustrated in their search for a winner as both substitute Chris Martin and then Leigh Griffiths struck the crossbar and Slovakia keeper Martin Dubravka made a series of fine saves. But the impact from the bench of Martin, whose presence forced Skrtel into the late own goal, made all the difference.
“At no time did it feel really stressful,” insisted Strachan.
“I felt part of it when I was down there and I could see they had everything under control. It wasn’t a problem for them, apart from a couple of misplaced passes.
“They had a real belief in what they were trying to do. They stayed above the anxiety of the crowd. A lot of people were getting anxious. They paid for their ticket and those are the emotions you get.
“But the players did the things they wanted to do. I genuinely felt we would score, no matter what the time was.
“I always felt the goal was coming. There have been times when I haven’t. But the work they put in tonight, the way they tried to play, a goal was coming for them.
“We had to change when they had a man sent off and it took us 10 minutes to adjust to that and understand what was needed. The longer the game went, the stronger we got. We just felt it was time for Chris Martin to come on.
“We tried to play around them but we needed Chris’ power and I thought he was terrific.
“Their goalkeeper was outstanding and the crossbar wasn’t too bad either. There was a lot we can be pleased about but we just need to regroup and go again on Sunday. We have been building up to a performance like that. They deserve a performance and result like that. How many times have we had bad luck written all over it? It wasn’t about luck tonight, it was a great goalkeeper, the crossbar and eventually getting one in.
“Would I have taken second place in the group at the start of the campaign? Yeah. Because England are so far ahead of us in resources, but we showed we can compete against them at times. What we want to do now is try to finish this off – forget about the bits and bobs which went on before and carry on.”
The prospects of endings nipped the Hampden air as much as the autumnal temperatures last night.
There was the prospect that the old stadium, that doesn’t wear its age so well these days, was playing host to its last World Cup qualifier. By extension, there was the possibility that the craggy features of Gordon Strachan, pictured, a man who otherwise doesn’t betray the advancement of his years, would be creasing while watching on in the arena as Scotland manager for the last time.
The fact that the game ended with a lump-in-the-throat rendition of Flower Of Scotland as the stadium sought to serenade their team through the final seconds following an impossibly dramatic last-gasp own goal by Martin Skrtel told that there was life in the two old dogs – Hampden and strachan –yet.
Whatever the flaws and failings of both, the pair may yet have the World Cup warm-up games that are craved, with Scotland requiring to win in Slovenia on Sunday to give them the hope of the play-off that would be the final step on the way to that.
The possibility of not just any endings, but happy ones lives on for Hampden’s World Cup relationship. Even with the SFA’S lease for the ground up in 2020 and doubts now being expressed about the decision over the renewal, which will be made in June.
Hampden, with its cavernous bowl and shallow slopes that were designed for standing, hasn’t known qualifying success since the £52 million redevelopment that involved bolting seats on to three sides was completed with the construction of a new main stand that opened in 1999.
Of course it must be just coincidence that Hampden in its current form has never witnessed a Scotland team earning a victory that propelled it to a major finals. It can just feel sometimes that the Mount Florida stadium is a mausoleum to international fortunes. It did before skrtel, under pressure from Chris Martin, inadvertently turned the ball into his own net in the 89th minute with Slovakia’s reduction to ten men 66 minutes earlier seeming as if it would only give way to the familiar hardluck story, with the woodwork twice struck and typical goalkeeping heroics for the visitors.
Maybe Hampden has had enough of such ill-fortune and wants an end to the fact that the last time Scotland did qualify for a major finals they did so at Celtic Park. A stadium which, as the largest and most lauded in the country, would be their de facto home for occasions such as last night’s must-win encounter.
The atmosphere at Hampden for the pre-match Flower Of Scotland was raucous, the anthem sung with gusto by a crowd who had sent the decibel level off the scale when Leigh Griffiths curled in his two free-kicks against England. It is a stadium that can still rouse itself when special moments spark it to life. Yet, for all the history that makes decanting from it unthinkable to traditionalists, it can also feel too long in the tooth, too tired to make things happen, to move with the times.
Strachan’s team staved off that being a metaphor for his tenure, and the national manager deserves credit for that. He brought on Martin to light the touchpaper and send Hampden aflame in song.
SFA chief executive Stewart Regan has said remaining at Hampden, with a new 20-year lease, would be the governing body’s “preferred” option, while clubs are understood to be concerned about the cost of its upkeep. No doubt Regan would prefer not to have to be in the hunt for a new manager but sometimes things come to their natural end.
It could be argued that is true of maintaining a huge stadium that may only be near its capacity for a handful of occasions a year. The SFA is writing to all clubs asking where they go from here with Hampden after 2020 and the answer from some might be along the lines of “come to us”.
The most successful football nations in the world have long since considered the concept of a national football stadium outmoded. If it is good enough for Germany, Spain and Italy to move their internationals and neutral cup ties round their countries then, surely, it could be argued that it should not be above Scotland.
Celtic Park, Ibrox, Murrayfield, Easter Road, Tynecastle and Pittodrie – or the new stadium Aberdeen hope to build – provide a decent spread. It ain’t over, though, when the battered old lady can still end a night in song.