THE SPECIAL RESERVE
In-form Gordon on hand for Euro call
The sight of David Marshall’s penalty shoot-out celebration in Serbia is one of the most iconic moments in the Scotland national team’s recent history.
The look of sheer disbelief on Marshall’s face quickly turned to unbridled joy as referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz gestured that his penalty stop from Aleksandar Mitrovic was a valid one as it clinched Scotland’s place at euro 2020.
And while Marshall has earned the right to start at the finals, he has stiff competition for a start in the shape of in-form hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
Gordon, capped 55 times, has been outstanding in recent months and would be an ideal replacement for Marshall if the Derby keeper’s recent back problems resurface.
he kept his eighth clean sheet of the season at Arbroath on Saturday before joining up with the Scotland squad for the World Cup qualifying tripleheader with Austria, Israel and Faroe Islands.
And, make no mistake, Gordon will be ready if he is called up by Steve Clarke to take on the No1 jersey.
‘We are all desperate to go to the euros and do our best,’ said Gordon.
‘In football, you have to prepare yourself for whatever might happen. There could be injuries, you just don’t know.
‘David has done well. he saved crucial penalties and the boys were deadly finishing them off from the spot.
‘It’s so typical of Scotland to put us all through all the emotions before we finally got to the finals.
‘I didn’t get any minutes in Serbia but to be part of the scenes at the end was a fantastic feeling for everyone involved and we hope we can carry that on now.
‘Playing in a major finals is still that one thing I haven’t managed to do in my career and I want to make sure I’m fit and ready for the summer. I hope I can make the cut. I’m in this squad and have to go away and perform well to keep myself in the manager’s thoughts.
‘We have three games coming up in a short space of time and there will be changes — whether or not that involves the keepers is entirely up to the manager.’
Gordon, 38, will miss hearts’ Scottish Cup tie with Brora Rangers tomorrow and the Championship clash with Queen of the South at the weekend.
But despite the weekend draw with Arbroath, he is leaving a hearts side in a commanding position at the top of the table.
The Tynecastle men now need nine points from their remaining six games to clinch the title and go into tomorrow’s game kicking off their bid to reach the Scottish Cup final for the third successive season.
Yet they struggled to break down a superbly well-marshalled Arbroath defence on Saturday.
every layer in Arbroath’s back line was immense, with Ricky Little and Tam O’Brien coping well with the threat of Armand Gnanduillet and Liam Boyce.
With Bobby Linn looking menacing in his 300th game for the Red Lichties, the hosts also had an early chance to win it with Kris Doolan shooting over from six yards.
hearts forced a succession of second-half corners — but aside from a couple of Gnanduillet efforts and some brave goal-line defending by Little and O’Brien to block Boyce, there were very few clear-cut chances.
The draw leaves Arbroath second bottom, but they have the chance to earn a Scottish Cup trip to Celtic Park by beating Falkirk tomorrow.