One of the old

ON a night when young players grabbed most of the headlines, one of the old guard showed he was far from finished with Scotland.

At 31, ancient in the minds of some supporters, there were more than a few who might well have thought Steven Fletcher was retired from international football.

After all, the Sheffield Wednesday striker didn’t get a call-up last time, his name hardly even merited so much as a mention, when he’s actually always been a good player for his country.

With so much talk surrounding Leigh Griffiths and Steven Naismith, Fletcher, now in double figures for Scotland, was pretty low down the list of possible striking alternatives if people are now be- ing honest with themselves. And I include Alex McLeish there.

Fletcher feared he had played his last game for Scotland. He had never made himself unavailable or asked not to be selected. And, yet, his days did appear to be numbered.

For those of us who have always admired this guy, his exclusion was a puzzle.

The hope was something good would come from all the injuries and those unwilling to play for their country – none were missed – and Fletcher’s getting a recall is certainly one.

The former Hibernian and Sunderland man played the role of No 9 to perfection, especially in the first half.

His link-up play was tremendous, the manner in which he brought others, Ryan Fraser, Ryan Christie