SCOTT MAKES IT A GREAT NIGHT
SCOTT MCTOMINAY dedicated his stunning 94th-minute winner to his grandad as Scotland strengthened their bid for a firstworld Cup final appearance in 24 years. The Manchester United star scored his first international goal with his thigh at the back post to put the Tartan Army in pole position to reach the play-offs.
Mctominay, whose grandad’s birthday is tomorrow, said: “I knew I had to score before his birthday! I can’t put it into words, I’ll never forget it!
“We know they’re a difficult team, but in the second half we dominated them.we created a huge amount of chances.at half-time, we knew we had to wake up.”
They certainly did, after Eran Zahavi put Israel ahead after less than five minutes with a free-kick.
John Mcginn levelled in the
29th minute but
Munas Dabbur restored
Israel’s lead two minutes later after the home side failed to defend a set-piece.
Lyndon Dykes had a penalty saved by keeper Ofir Marciano just before the interval but the striker made up for a poor effort early in the second half with a Var-awarded goal.
Wins for Steve Clarke’s side against the Faroe Islands next week and Moldova in November will now secure a play-off semifinal berth next March, and they remain on the tail of group leaders Denmark. Clarke and his players
have reignited interest in their national team and the spirit and bravery on display in front of a raucous 50,585 full house at Hampden Park – especially from young Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour – was remarkable.
Clarke said: “It was a tough night but nice to celebrate with the fans.the way the game ended was good for everyone. They created a fantastic atmosphere.
‘‘My players show every time how they want to do well for their country.
“We took two big blows, conceding soft goals. I told them at half-time if they wanted to lose they were going about it the right way.the pleasing thing is, some people say that we can’t score goals yet we have had 17 shots in the game, nine of them on target, and when we needed to score three goals we did.”
Scotland skipper Andy Robertson said: “It is a big result for us.we know how important it is, but it only counts if we use it correctly now.”