Dykes spot on for Scotland
SCOTLAND knew they could not afford to lose this game, but you could not detect any fear during a courageous victory that puts them on course for a World Cup play-off berth.
There were murmurings of discontent among some former players beforehand as they believed the Scottish camp would be happy with a point.
They need not have worried. Steve Clarke’s side were magnificent and jumped into second spot in Group F thanks to Lyndon Dykes’ first-half penalty.
Their next fixture is at home to third-placed Israel next month, and that already has the look of a decider to reach the play-offs.
If last week’s first half in Denmark ranked as one of the worst of Clarke’s reign — two down inside a quarter of an hour — then the opening 45 minutes in Vienna were up there with the best. Scotland were solid at the back and fluid in attack.
Perhaps that was to be expected given nine of the 10 outfield starters from June’s goalless draw with England were involved here, and that night at Wembley was easily the standout performance under Clarke. Until now.
There was, though, a degree of good fortune to their winning goal on the half hour — both because of the VAR intervention in awarding the penalty and then when Dykes’ low smash wormed through goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann.
But there was also an element of misfortune as Austria defender Martin Hinteregger should have been shown a second yellow card for pulling Che Adams’ shirt in conceding the spot-kick, noticed only by the video referee.
Scotland needed Craig Gordon to produce a big save late on but anything other than a win would have been unjust.
A CALAMITOUS own goal saw Ireland salvage a point at home to Serbia. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic put the visitors ahead in the first half, and they looked destined for three points — until a last-ditch clearance cannoned off Nikola Milenkovic into his own net late on.