The sole Scottish fan to witness country’s biggest win

In years to come when Scots turn to their elders and say ‘ where were you when Scotland beat Serbia to reach Euro 2020?’ there will be only one Tartan Army soldier who can truthfully say ‘ I was there’.

And for 44- year- old Gordon Howat it was a moment he will never forget. The dad- of- two used a dose of quick- thinking and cunning to circumvent the covid lockdown that had stumped all other Tartan Army fans, by cleverly disguising a work trip to follow his heroes to the Balkan outpost.

And as he proudly flew a homemade Salt ire alone from his seat in the 53,000seat capacity Rajko Mitić Stadium Gordon, a veteran of the France 98 Scotland campaign, realised he was the only Scottish fan privileged to witness history in the making.

He told The Scotsman: “It was kind of surreal, I was sitting next to a handful of Scottish journalists covering the match. I wish there had been 20,000 other Scottish fans round about me, but I’d like to hope I did my fair share of shouting.”

A career designing and installing sports pitches has opened the doors for Gordon, from Helensburgh, to some of the world’s top global sporting events.

So when Scotland clinched their playoff place for Euro 2020 by beating Israel on penalties, he wasted no time in contacting Red Star Belgrade, t he usual occupiers of t he Ratko Mitić ground, to call in a favour.

He explained: “I am good f riends with t he chairman so when Scotland beat Israel I was right on the phone to make sure I was here on the night to ‘ inspect the pitch’.

"It was a surreal experience If i am honest, I was sitting with my flag with the names of my daughters Lottie and Susa. We almost did our best to blow it on the pitch too but we came good.

“The irony is that while the match was on it was raining so hard that I was getting genuinely concerned for the pitch and was watching it just as closely as the game.”

He added: "I have been lucky enough to be at some major sporting events through my work, including the last World Cup Final, but last night destroyed all of them. This one mattered more.”