Basic stuff and few frills .. just like £90 jersey
“It all starts here!” The official slogan for Scotland’s Euro 2024 qualification campaign
A side dish ahead of the main course of a double header, so to speak.
But Spain’s arrival in Glasgow on Tuesday night is now a whole more palatable after opening with a win over Cyprus to claim three points.
For once, we didn’t even need to make a meal of it.
After a six-month wait for a competitive game, absence really does make the heart fonder.
The 50,000 fans seemed happy enough despite it being an instantly forgettable fixture.
So often, it’s these types of stuffy afternoons that can prove costly when we’re reviewing one failed campaign or another.
Speaking of expensive, there was also a retro home kit on show.
The Tartan Army have been snapping them up but, at £90 a pop for the shirt, the SFA marketing people saw them coming a mile off.
Anyway, it’s a buyer’s market – and it would be churlish to spoil a Scotland win. It was competent, without much flair, and spared the supporters any undue drama.
The fancy top was about the only thing on show that you could moan about.
Not since 2006 have Scotland launched a Euro campaign with an opening day win – so there’s a huge positive for starters.
John McGinn’s 21st-minute opener eased any anxiety around Hampden.
To the naked eye it appeared VAR would bring a halt to the celebrations, with Andy Robertson appearing to have strayed offside in the build-up.
Cue an eternal wait before the goal was confirmed – that’s Scotland for you these days ... even the marginal calls are going in our favour now.
Last time Scotland played Cyprus at Hampden, Oliver Burke had to climb off the bench to score an 89th-minute winner.
But this time there was no such need for emergency interventions.
The surface at Hampden seemed a bit soft, with players struggling to keep their feet and sliding into challenges.
It’s a touch ironic as the coaching staff had talked down the facilities at the Oriam earlier this week as being a safety hazard.
After all the debate over who should start in goal, Angus Gunn of Norwich was given the nod. Truth is he needn’t have bothered wearing gloves.
Grigoris Kastanos did register a few shots on target but they were the gentlest strikes from distance.
There is also a genuine strength and depth to this squad as the sight of Scott McTominay and Ryan Christie replacing Stuart Armstrong and Ryan Jack would testify.
McTominay’s two late strikes added a gloss and now all eyes can be trained on Spain.
New Spanish boss Luis de la Fuente has a side in relative transition, it’s an opportunity to land an early blow.
The Cyprus game was a warm-up for the players and a chance for fans to get the kilts out the wardrobe.
The handbrake is off on a new Euro campaign but the engine was nowhere near full throttle
A win with no frills, just getting the job done by executing the basics.
Much like our new strip, just nowhere near as costly.