LETHAL WEAPON
Griffiths riding crest of a wave as he tries to shoot club and country to dizzier heights
IKE never before, Leigh Griffiths is immobilising defenders with his movement. Rendering goalkeepers static by the ferocity of the rapid-release firepower in those boots. Now he wants to witness the Slovakian team, that stands in the way of Scotland and a play-off tie, freezing on the Hampden stage.
Griffiths believes it is possible, too, with the collective will of the national stadium on a World Cup night creating an intoxicating mix with the utmost confidence coursing through he and his Celtic colleagues.
The on-form striker is in the finest fettle of his career, coming off the back of an Old Firm strike at Ibrox and his first-ever Champions League group stage goal.
A calf injury that threatened to bedevil his start to the season has proven only a minor hiccup on a seamless summer transition from national hero against England to grabbing back that Celtic striker’s jersey. He picked up where he left off for Scotland, too, with a superb display of leading the line in Lithuania and a goal against Malta to satisfy centre-forward greed.
Slovakia, the team in pole position to follow England out of Group F and into a November showdown for a ticket to Russia next summer, are next in his sights and they carry no fear factor. Certainly not after Griffiths has selected a few of his favourite Scotland home wins for inspiration and figured that mightier reputations have been slain on powerful nights of Hampden passion.
The 1-0 win over France when Gary Caldwell struck for Walter Smith’s battlers. The defeat of Holland when fellow maverick James McFadden cracked home the play-off game’s only goal.
How Griffiths would love to conjure an effort of that class in one of Scotland’s biggest games in a generation. His one, snatched chance in a dismal 3-0 loss to Slovakia a year ago came as a substitute.
Now the 27-year-old is an automatic pick with the World Cup scoring hopes of the country resting on his shoulders. It’s a status Griffiths is clearly relishing as he bullishly addressed Thursday’s challenge.
‘I came on against Slovakia in the away game and I had a shot that I just dragged wide,’ he recalled. ‘They are a good team with guys like Martin Skrtel in defence and this will be a hard game.
‘But then you look down the years at Scotland’s Hampden results and it gives you confidence. We drew with England a few months ago. Before my time, there were wins against France and Holland.
‘Big teams have come to Hampden and froze on the big occasions. Hopefully that happens to Slovakia. They did well against England and ran them close. But there is not much of an atmosphere at Wembley compared to Hampden. If we set the tone and start strong, they will know they are in a game. ‘Slovakia are under pressure to come to Scotland and get a result. Remember that earlier in the group, they were clear in second — so there is a lot of expectation.’ The only expectation surrounding the Scotland effort at the turn of the year
was that manager Gordon Strachan would probably not see out the campaign. Qualifying hopes did not appear redeemable until Chris Martin stepped off the bench and scored against Slovenia on a night when Griffiths missed a couple of first-half chances. ‘Think back to last year and nobody gave us a chance when we lost 3-0 to England,’ said Griffiths. ‘But we have turned a corner. Everyone has seen the performances and results we have had. ‘It’s also important that we don’t get carried away. We are going out to do a job against Slovakia and look for three points. We need to start on the front foot and get all the fans behind us. An early goal would be great to settle everyone down.
‘It can take time though. As we saw in the Slovenia game, you sometimes need to be patient.
‘But if we can keep a clean sheet then we’ve every chance of nicking a goal. Hopefully we can get the result we need and then go to Slovenia knowing what we need to do.
‘So this is as big as it gets. This will be one of the biggest Scotland games in years. Our fate is in our own hands. Six points and we are in the play-offs.
‘We also know how good a team Slovakia are but they have weaknesses. We need to look to exploit them on Thursday night. A full Hampden will be massive for us. We need to take the performances from the last few games into this one.’
Should he emerge from this massive week as the principal Scotland hero of a successful double-header, there is the tantalising prospect that the career high he’s feeling right now could hit a steeper upwards curve.
Scotland could be two legs away from a World Cup finals. Celtic, in part thanks to his goal against Anderlecht, have already taken a giant stride towards securing European football in the second half of the season.
‘I am living the dream right now — playing for Celtic and Scotland and scoring goals in big games,’ said Griffiths. ‘I feel my form is good and that is down to myself and the physios for keeping me ticking over.
‘My calves feel fine. I had a few problems at the start of the season but that’s okay now. Hopefully I can continue in the form I am in.
‘I relish the pressure of wearing that No 9 shirt in big games for club and country — of course I do. I go into every game thinking I will score and that’s what I try to do.
‘At the same time, it’s not just about me. It’s all about the team and, even if I don’t score, if I can help Celtic and Scotland get the results we want then I will be happy.’