Clarke earns his dough with half-time wake-up call to rouse his players
As new contract celebrations go, this one went very well – eventually.
In choosing to announce on Friday that national coach Steve Clarke had extended his stay until 2026, Scotland took something of a calculated risk.
The news gave players and fans alike a boost going to into their Hampden double header, the second half of which will come here against Spain on Tuesday night.
However, had the country fallen flat in their two Euro qualifiers, it would have been the proverbial damp squib.
Thanks to John McGinn and Scott McTominay, who shared three goals between them, the opposite was true. At least in terms of the final score.
“Overall, it was very pleasing. It’s nice to start the campaign with what looks like a comprehensive home win with a 3-0 scoreline,” said Clarke.
“I thought we were outstanding for half an hour with the rotations and movement on both sides really good.
“But then I just felt we got a little bit sloppy and casual.
“I told them at half-time: ‘Maybe you feel it’s a bit too easy – but it is not because the scoreline says it’s not.’
“The second half was about trying to pick up the momentum we had in the first 30.
“It took us a bit longer to do that than it should.”
As the manager said, Scotland started confidently.
Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson were quick to make inroads down the left flank, laying claim for later exploitation.
Ryan Porteous, deployed in a back three with Grant Hanley and Tierney, showed conviction in his tackling and his crisp distribution of the ball.
Ryan Jack and Callum McGregor, who won his 50th cap, again showed good understanding in the centre of the pitch.
Further forward, McGinn gave Cyprus warning of his threat when outpacing his marker to get to a cutback from Stuart Armstrong, his clipped effort going wide.
The goal their play deserved came with a lengthy VAR check included but was none the worse for that.
Scorer McGinn was fine, the midfielder timing his run beautifully to arrive at the back post to volley Robertson’s cross into the net for his 16th goal for the country – all under Clarke.
“It looks like a good decision to push him a little bit further forward. If I take any credit, that’s the only thing I did right,” said Clarke with a laugh.
“No listen, it is down to John. “He arrives late in box really well and his finishing is normally really clean.”
Officials, though, wanted to make sure Robertson had not been offside when he darted onto Armstrong’s clever through-ball and at length decided Alex Gogic had played him on.
If the use of the technology left the St Mirren player little room for complaint on the score, he was unlucky to see his attempt to cut out the ball into the box merely give it a helpful deflection.
So far there had been little of debutant goalkeeper Angus Gunn.
Six foot five inches tall and clad in a canary yellow strip, he was tough to miss. It was his misfortune that his first contribution of note was to fall over his own feet.
Moving across to collect an innocuous looking pass, he looked in little danger but he slipped on the surface and was saved by a favourable bounce off the back of his leg. No harm done.
His opposite number showed he was not too badly affected when pushing over a snapshot from Che Adams.
Adams didn’t last too long after that, coming off worst in a sliding tackle with Gogic, and was replaced by Lyndon Dykes.
As the minutes ticked down, the fear of a Cyprus equaliser against the run of play became more real.
McTominay, brought on for Jack midway through the second half, had other ideas stretching Scotland’s lead with a terrific goal.
Christie, battling well to reach the byline, sent a deep cross into the box.
Dykes, falling away, directed a cushioned header to McTominay, who took the ball down on his right thigh before crashing a left-footed shot into the net.
It was a lovely piece of skill and he was not finished as he added another with a cool finish deep into injury time when teed up by Robertson.
“Congratulations to Scotland. Steve Clarke has done a very good job with them,” said Temuri Ketsabia, the Cyprus coach, who Dundee fans will remember well from his time at Dens Park.
“They have good players – just imagine having a Manchester United player on the bench.”