HEAD START FROM NAISMITH

Perseverance pays off for striker as he vindicates cap recall

WITH seven goals in eight games already this season, Steven Naismith is sleeping soundly at the moment.

Yet the Hearts striker threatened to end this Nations League qualifier a tortured figure. A man destined to spend his sleepless hours tossing and turning, pondering what might have been.

First, he passed on an absolute sitter in the 24th minute. The offside flag then whipped away his respite before half-time.

Even UEFA were at it, ruling Albania defender Berat Djimsiti applied the final finish to his header for Scotland’s opening goal in 46 minutes.

Mercifully, it turned out fine in the end.

Naismith was a contentious choice to start before Leigh Griffiths from the start and the Celtic man made his feelings pretty clear as he marched straight up the tunnel grim-faced at full-time. Yet who would deny now that the former Rangers and Everton man vindicated a bold, risky team selection by Alex McLeish by claiming his eighth Scotland goal with a header in 68 minutes?

Griffiths was hardly the only dissenter before kick-off. Above the strains of Flower of Scotland, Hampden became reacquainted with an old familiar scraping noise. The sound of knives being sharpened. Make no mistake. Had McLeish failed to win here he was in trouble.

Beaten in four of his five games in charge since returning to the Scotland job six months ago, the naysayers lined up take potshots after a desperate 4-0 home defeat to Belgium on Friday night.

Ranked 58 in the FIFA world ratings, Albania were always likely to pose a more modest challenge. Nevertheless, it was one McLeish simply had to overcome. The repercussions of failure would have taken days to abate.

After a first half of missed opportunities, Scotland’s first goal in almost six hours of international football came with Djimsiti’s own goal in 46 minutes. Naismith earned the man of the match award for perseverance alone when he secured the three points with the second before next month’s trip to Israel

The team selection raised eyebrows amongst the crowd of 17,455 and far beyond. Even to those who have tried to apply context and perspective to four defeats in five games against the Belgians, Costa Rica, Peru and Mexico, it looked baffling. James Forrest — the Celtic winger with Champions League experience — was benched in favour of Stephen O’Donnell of Kilmarnock. Griffiths, by common consent the most potent threat, was left out in favour of Naismith, with Johnny Russell in support. Fulham’s Kevin McDonald, widely expected to make way in midfield, kept his place as the number eight. Captain Andrew Robertson and Kieran Tierney — natural leftbacks with Liverpool and Celtic — were once again shunted out of position to shoehorn them both in the team. Craig Gordon was dropped for Allan McGregor.

Single-minded management is an admirable trait. When it works. It did with O’Donnell, to be fair. Pre-match, the Scotland manager spoke of his players swarming all over Albania ‘like bees’. The aim was to play a high-tempo, highenergy game with legs and running and, on a slick slipper surface, the Scots provided some terrific service from wide areas for Russell and Naismith. Most of it came from O’Donnell.

Naismith — in particular — blew the best of them. A John McGinn diagonal free-kick towards the back post, nodded back across goal by Charlie Mulgrew where Naismith looked odds on to put the Scots ahead.

Arriving at the back post, he only had to hit the target from three yards out. Instead, he skewed his header against the inside of the upright, watching in horror as the ball ran along the goalline, the opportunity gone.

It’s unlikely anything will eclipse Chris Iwelumo’s hideous miss against Norway in 2008. This might have been as close as Hampden has witnessed since.

Thankfully, Naismith cancelled out the damage with one secondhalf goal and a decent claim to two. Yet, he could have had one four minutes before half-time. Sidefooting Callum McGregor’s prodded effort into the net from eight yards, the offside flag only added to the nagging fear that Scotland’s wastefulness might cost them.

In truth, the performance deserved more than a stalemate at half-time. McGregor’s whipped free-kick under the crossbar forced keeper Thomas Strakosha to take no chances when Russell was fouled in the third minute.

The rain tumbled from a leaden Glasgow sky, the conditions a hazardous business for the Albanian keeper. Mulgrew’s freekick from 25 yards was almost spilled at the feet of Naismith midway through the half.

The reminder that Albania were no Belgium came four minutes before half-time. Every time Scotland gave the ball away, the World Cup semi-finalists punished them savagely.

McGinn gifted the opening goal on Friday and, disturbingly, he almost did it again when an awful pass on the halfway line allowed Ledian Memushaj to run 30 yards and thump a hopeless shot wide of goal. At this level, persistent failings are brutally exposed.

Naismith’s ricocheted header gave the Scots a terrific start to the second half and the assumption was that would be that. The home team had the goal they needed — and deserved — and Albania didn’t look up to much.

Yet McGinn almost cancelled out the advantage with another blunder minutes later. This time a short left-foot passback forced Allan McGregor to race from his line to meet Bekim Balaj as the Albanian No 19’s bottle collapsed.

Round one to McGregor was followed by another intervention in the 50th minute as Albania began to show worryingly levels of menace and ambition.

Prompted by classy Brescia midfelder Emanuel Ndoj, Balaj slotted a netbound shot towards goal, the outstretched knee of McGregor vindicating the decision to hand the Rangers keeper the gloves ahead of Craig Gordon.

Balaj must have flown home last night a tortured figure. The Akhmat Grozny striker had another outstanding chance from an Ndoj whipped cross, thumping a volley over from the penalty spot.

Scotland needed a second goal to quell the rebellion. It almost came when Naismith’s through pass came off the heel of defender Djimsiti, McGregor racing in on goal before Frederic Veseli made up the ground to for a vital block.

The sedative finally came in 67 minutes. This time there was no denying Naismith a goal he deserved for sheer bloody mindedness.

McGinn’s outswinging left-foot corner skidded off the head of Veseli in a crowded area. With the keeper off his line and the goal unguarded, the lurking Naismith looped a header into the net for 2-0.

A good night’s work ensuring the 31-year-old — and his national boss — could rest easy once again.