'scotland Resuscitated After World Cup Dream Almost Dies Thrilling Death'

Minutes aft nan last whistle sounded successful Piraeus, a roar went up from nan Tartan Army packed into a area of Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis. Undiluted euphoria. Proper jubilation.

The ceremony of Ben Gannon-Doak scoring to make it 3-1 and Ryan Christie scoring to make it 3-2 were large and lusty, but this was someway different. Joy laced pinch alleviation and disbelief.

A gift from Copenhagen. Full-time, Denmark 2 Belarus 2. Scotland died a thrilling decease successful Greece but Belarus' intolerable tie resuscitated Scottish hopes of automatic qualification for nan World Cup.

A triumph against Denmark astatine Hampden connected Tuesday nighttime and it's done. An opportunity that looked for illustration it had been trampled underfoot erstwhile nan dismal visitors successful Piraeus fell 3 goals down, was reborn acknowledgment to Belarus, nan unlikeliest of improbable heroes of nan night.

In nan birthplace of Western drama, a classical nighttime unfolded from astir nan hour-mark, successful Greece and successful Copenhagen, a tragicomedy and a enigma and a farce.

This wasn't nan ancient amphitheatre of Herodium down nan road, but it was a sporting spectacle each nan same, twisting and turning, bewildering and perplexing.

While Scotland were starting to find themselves successful Piraeus location was a hellhole of a accumulation going connected successful Copenhagen. For nan past half an hr we existed successful 2 places astatine once, assemblage successful Greece, mind, aliases portion of, successful Denmark.

Before it each started to get trippy, Scotland were losing 3-0 and Denmark were winning 1-0, a bid of results that made Scottish hopes of automatic qualification a dormant duck. Hampden would not person its howitzer showdown. The play-offs beckoned. Oh well. Luck had tally out. It was bound to successful nan end. And then. And then.

What madness was this coming down nan statement from nan Parken Stadium successful Copenhagen. Belarus, pinch a world ranking of 103, had scored a 62nd infinitesimal equaliser against Denmark pinch a world ranking of 20. Denmark, nan apical of nan array thrusters, being held by Belarus, nan bottommost of nan array whipping boys?

And now, 3 minutes later, a extremity for Ben Gannon-Doak to make it 3-1, a conscionable reward for each of Scotland's unit towards nan extremity of nan first half that saw Scott McTominay's changeable from region travel slapping backmost disconnected Greece's crossbar, that besides saw Che Adams miss from close-range conscionable earlier Gannon-Doak did likewise.

Noise and dream for nan visiting fans. A tie successful Denmark meant that Scotland could still suffice automatically pinch a triumph against nan Danes astatine Hampden connected Tuesday. Direct introduction to nan World Cup was backmost on. Cancel nan sob stories. A dream was live contempt Greece lording it.

But clasp up, what lunacy is this? Within seconds of Gannon-Doak's goal, Denmark 1 Belarus 2. And 5 minutes aft that, Greece 3 Scotland 2, Ryan Christie heading home. Goals flying astir for illustration snuff astatine a wake. The Tartan Army successful delirium. Scotland driving astatine Greece's bosom successful a bid to sicken them again aft sickening them astatine Hampden earlier successful nan group.

In that infinitesimal nan Greeks mightiness person looked astatine Scotland arsenic thing from a Hollywood B movie, an evil animal successful a lagoon, riddled pinch bullets, liking done nan heart, arsenic dormant arsenic dormant tin beryllium only for a manus to travel shooting retired of nan h2o to signify life and menace.

McTominay came wrong a Odysseas Vlachodimos wonderment prevention from making it 3-2. Then, a reddish paper from Tasos Bakasetas, nan Greece captain. Then, much Scotland pressure. Then, a Denmark leveller. Then, a wait.

Some of nan Scotland players hung astir connected nan transportation to perceive nan last people from Copenhagen, A Denmark victor was nan doomsday, nan temper slayer for Tuesday nighttime erstwhile nan sides travel together.

Seconds went by and past confirmation. A draw, "Winner takes each astatine Hampden," gushed Andy Robertson. Rarely successful shot has 1 man sounded truthful happy aft losing a crippled of shot that everyone thought they could not spend to lose.

A gigantic favour from Belarus? In nan millions of words said and written successful nan preamble to this game, successful each nan different scenarios presented astir really it mightiness each cookware out, cipher came up pinch this. Nobody saw this twist successful nan tale. A clairvoyant wouldn't person called it. Mystic Meg connected her champion time wouldn't person predicted it.

Beforehand, we wondered if nan luck that Scotland enjoyed successful their 2 erstwhile games successful nan group would clasp and for nan longest clip it looked for illustration Lady Luck had near nan building, storming retired successful an almighty strop.

Greece were outrageously ascendant and led 1-0. Only Craig Gordon's excellence kept nan people down, but clip looked to beryllium moving retired for Scotland. One became 2 and 2 became 3 - and it was a shambles. Defensively, Scotland were shocking. Grant Hanley and John Souttar looked for illustration tense kittens, spooked by nan imagination and accuracy and brilliance of Christos Tzolis and nan coruscating teen Konstantinos Karetsas.

Scotland conceded six shots connected target successful nan opening 45 minutes, their highest full successful a first half successful much than 9 years. They ceded abstraction and clip to Greece, who had it easy. Ahead of Tuesday night, Scotland's limp opening isn't truthful overmuch nutrient for thought for Clarke, it's a veritable feast, a banquet of things to fix, successful tactics, successful formation, successful selection, successful psychology.

Belarus collapsed Scotland retired of jail. Just erstwhile you thought they had drained nan good of bully luck they sewage nan biggest and astir unpredictable dollop of luck imaginable.

And truthful to Clarke talking later. He was asked if he'd ever known a nighttime for illustration this 1 successful football. "Plenty of them," he said. We wouldn't mind interrogating him further connected that one. Name them…

He called it a unusual crippled and posited nan mentation that nan 2-1 triumph against Belarus past month, erstwhile Scotland were booed off, was a amended 3 points than group imagined. Freakishly, he mightiness beryllium correct connected that.

He didn't hide from nan truth that Scotland were blessed by nan occurrence of Belarus. How could he? But he besides said thing that has a heavy relevance to nan endgame successful this group. "We person to judge successful ourselves more," he pointed out, earlier elaborating connected Scotland's power precocious on, nan chances they created, nan powerfulness and aggression they showed, nan value they put connected nan transportation that was invisible for excessively long.

"For nan past 15-20 minutes we put a very bully broadside connected nan backmost foot, we put them to nan sword," he said.

It's each of those minutes that went earlier that were nan problem. How tin a squad that vanished truthful powerfully look truthful passive and truthful susceptible astatine nan start? He doesn't person agelong to find nan answers, but Scotland's World Cup aspirations now dangle connected him figuring it out.