Our streetwise Scots look fine on their travels
After decades of Scottish teams playing the role of innocents abroad wasn’t it great to watch our clubs claim some payback?
Both Aberdeen and Motherwell’s progression in their Europa League qualifiers makes a refreshing change.
Our teams are routinely hit by a sucker-punch and taken advantage of on our travels.
Even a win for Rangers over those pesky Red Imps in Gibraltar had the potential for disaster.
So, well done one and all. The signs from Thursday night were so much more streetwise.
Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson said that winning was all that mattered after going through on penalty kicks against Coleraine – and he’s absolutely correct.
It was a lose-lose situation in Northern Ireland against a part-time team playing on what appeared to be a ploughed field.
The clash had the victim card written all over it.
But nobody was punching the air more than me when Trevor Carson made those three penalty shoot-out saves to get through after surviving extratime with 10 men.
When we look back at 2020 and assess the results, we will only see a scoreline and that
Well claimed victory.
Nobody will care about the circumstances or how they achieved it.
It was also interesting to read Well skipper Declan Gallagher say that the nation should back itself more and start making a mark in Europe.
He’s dead right. No doubt there were some prophets of doom hoping for Robinson and his players to slip up so they could slam another nail into the reputation of our game.
So it was brilliant to see them progress to fix a date with Hapoel Beer Sheva of Israel next week. Scottish football needs our clubs to succeed to improve our coefficient and enhance our status.
With that comes a self-confidence that is starting to show.
How many times have our clubs turned what appeared on paper to be a cakewalk into a calamity?
As a Kilmarnock fan I only need to go back one season – but the less said about Connah’s Quay the better.
The facts show that no Scottish club outside of Glasgow has reached a European group stage since Aberdeen 13 years ago – that tells its own story.
I’ve played in European games – it’s a different challenge, different environment, different standards of refereeing.
Then you might have to contend with dodgy food and horrendous travelling.
Nobody should understate the size of Aberdeen’s win in Norway against Viking Stavanger to join Motherwell Rangers and Celtic in the third qualifying round.
Derek McInnes and his side did themselves proud not just with the result but also by their performance.
I’d hope that all Scottish football fans would get behind all of our clubs but maybe that’s wishful thinking.
What is true is that our coefficient ranking is climbing and the SPFL benefits as a whole from that.
We can also look ahead to a European campaign that offers something different this season.
With the exception of Celtic’s Champions League qualification failure against Ferencvaros, the hurdles have been climbed without the usual shocker.
It bodes well. It’s time for our clubs to make a greater impression in Europe. A huge week lies ahead and they must continue to avoid playing the role of accidental tourists.