Scots can look forward to England clash with renewed optimism

1. Scotland remain on life support as Gordon Strachan clings on. The nation’s faint hopes of qualifying for next year’s World Cup appeared to be slipping away as the seconds ticked down at Hampden. But Chris Martin’s late winner means Scotland can now look forward to June’s clash with England with renewed optimism. It will also prolong Strachan’s reign by another three months. The boss was expected to resign if his side failed to claim victory, but his position remains safe for now. 2. Chris Martin turns jeers to cheers. The Derby striker, on loan at Fulham, has struggled to win over the Tartan Army since making his debut three years ago but however they may feel about the 28-year-old, he did not deserve to be booed as he made his entrance with nine minutes remaining. But Martin shoved his detractors’ sneers back down their throats as he fired home the precious late winner. There remains a long way to go for Scotland to reach Russia but the big target man will hope his goal proves to be a turning point. 3. Stuart Armstrong looks the part. The former Dundee United midfielder won his first Scotland cap just four days shy of his 25th birthday but he looked as though he had been playing international football for years. Composed on the ball and full of energy, he carried on in the same impressive manner to that of his recent club performances. The former Dundee United playmaker capped an encouraging debut by laying on the pass which led to Martin’s decisive strike. 4. Kieran Tierney is on the right track. With no natural right-back in Strachan’s squad, the 19-year-old Celtic left-back was asked to fill in on the opposite flank as he collected just his fourth cap. But the switch of sides did not disrupt the youngster as he galloped forward to offer support at every opportunity. 5. Leigh Griffiths needs to learn to relax. The striker admitted on the eve of the match that his desperation to break his scoring duck for Scotland was having a negative effect on his usual deadly eye for goal. But he was once again guilty of snatching at a golden chance when he smashed against the crossbar from just three yards midway through the first period. The Celtic poacher, however, was desperately unlucky a minute later when he rifled against the woodwork again from 18 yards before limping off early in the second half.