Two things can be true at the same time.
It’s right to feel that Scotland winning a game at the World Cup finals is a marvellous thing, a generational event. It’s equally fair to feel that the team can play better. That they can use all their tournament experience to exert more control than they did in a 1-0 win over Haiti.
Burdened by the enormous monkey on their back, the national side’s last win at a World Cup finals had come 36 years ago. This group of players had gone two Euro finals without winning a game and the weight of history bore heavy on their shoulders in the heat of Boston as they laboured their way to a victory as rare as a sighting of Haley’s Comet.
Before beating Haiti Scotland had won a pitiful four games in 23 previous appearances at the World Cup finals in a run stretching all the way back to 1954. Throw in the Euros and the record is seven wins in 36 games at major tournaments. Pitiful stuff.
Set aside Zaire (1974), Holland (1978), New Zealand (1982) and Sweden (1990) and most of the fans who belted out a spine-tingling rendition of Flower of Scotland in the Boston Stadium had never seen them win a game of any description on a major stage.
Put it like that and the frustration and negativity is a slightly preposterous over-reaction. On Saturday four short-odds favourites played at the World Cup and while Switzerland, Brazil and Turkey dropped points Scotland won all three. Winning on football’s biggest stage is tougher than it looks from the outside.
Read more:
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- Andy Robertson insists Scotland players 'pretty relaxed' vs Haiti
- Stephen McGowan: Scotland 1 Haiti 0 - instant reaction to burning issues
It’s only when you move beyond the relief and the history that some old worries creep in.
Monday marks the 44th anniversary of that game against New Zealand at Spain 82 when Jock Stein’s team streaked into a 3-0 lead then conceded two needless second half goals. Goal difference killed them in the end and, by failing to add to their lead against Haiti, it could kill them again now.
For long spells the Caribbean underdogs controlled the game; a lack of quality in the final third the saving grace. When Frantdzy Pierrot sent a header flashing past Angus Gunn’s right hand post time late in the game time stood still. Qatar had claimed an added time equaliser against the Swiss and a grim sense of foreboding set in
Six minutes of added time was a form of purgatory, the Scots conceding one free kick after another and whacking tired clearances into the opposition half. That New Zealand was notable for being the last time they had won their opening game at a World Cup. After a torturous finale they got there in the end.
Steve Clarke had made a big play of trying to enjoy this World Cup experience to the full.
There were times, towards the end of an edgy 90 minutes, when he might have been the only Scot in the Boston Stadium enjoying it much at all.
As a player the Ayrshireman never made it on to this stage. He had waited a long time to sample the intoxicating experience of an appearance at a World Cup, never mind a win. He was entitled to sip from a glass half full.
“Sometimes I put myself under too much pressure,” said Clarke. “When you're in charge of a group of players like this, I think you have to appreciate what you've got.
"And I really appreciate what I’ve got in that squad. They've never let me down. They've had bad results, but they've never let me down.
"That's why I can come to a tournament like this and enjoy it. I've never been to a World Cup. I've waited 62 years to be at a World Cup.
"I've been in football for 44 years. This for me is everything. It's what I wanted to do.
“I wanted to go to a World Cup in my country and I'm sitting here now talking to you guys. That's the downside!
"But that's what it means, obviously. I've had a fantastic playing career, a great coaching and managerial career. But to be sitting here as the head coach of a fantastic group of players at a World Cup, it's everything."
He looked drained and exhausted by the end and everyone knew how he felt.
The manager praised the resilience and character of his team. Pressed back by a Haiti team with athleticism and talent, but a lack of cut and thrust in front of goal, the Scots would have killed for another goal. Guesswork at this stage they reckon that three points and a goal difference of minus two or three should be enough to secure a place in the knock out stages as a best third place finisher. A rare three points, then, were huge.
“It just shows how difficult it is for a country like Scotland to go to a World Cup and win games. It does not happen very often.
“This group of players I have spoken about many many times, they have shown their experience.
“We spoke about the last ones, we were disappointed with the two performances an d the two outcomes ion the two Euros,. This time you have that pressure on you as well as the pressure you must win your first game. They deserve it.
“They have been so good for the nation in the last seven years. They deserve to be the team to finally have won a game at a World Cup.”
While the Scots deserve praise for finishing the job, there should be no denial of the fact that they can play better. John McGinn’s 21st international goal was the first on this stage since Craig Burley against Norway at France 98. While Scott McTominay smashed a shot against the upright, they struggled to assert sustained control against an energetic opponent.
“Everyone told me it was a must win game and we won the game,” added Clarke. “If it is a must win game and you win then I think you can be happy for yourselves.
“What’s not to enjoy when you walk out onto the pitch before the game almost an hour and a half before the game and I see my family walking down the steps to sit in the stand. It is special.
“And when we finish the game they are right behind the dug out. It is special.
“And then you go into the middle of the park with your team to celebrate a win. You see the tartan army all the way round the stadium having a great time – they were swearing mind in one of the songs. Listen I said I was going to enjoy it, and when your team wins, that’s easy.”
The stand out players were the relentless Lewis Ferguson in midfield and 20-year-old winger Ben Gannon Doak. The manager’s praise of the Bournemouth winger was of the backhanded variety – it often is – and some of that might be an attempt to protect a young player from excessive hype.
"Ferguson – yes. Exceptional. He's been a massive player for us, Lewis. He had to be very patient to wait for his chances to come into the team, but since we put him in there, he's become a key player.
“Listen, Ben's Ben. He does what he does. Every now and again, he'll have that little skip away.
“I thought they had a full back playing really well. I thought they, as a team, actually handled him really well.
“It was a difficult night for Ben, but when you're taking Ben off and you're bringing Ryan Christie on, you're not dropping the levels any. That shows that we've got players that can come from the bench.”
The next game is Friday against a Morocco side which drew 1-1 with group favourites Brazil in New Jersey.
Utilising a 4-4-2 formation against Haiti, Clarke is likely to revert to a five man midfield. Four points would guarantee progress to the last 32 and history. Losing by two or three goals would be damaging to hopes of a third place finish.
“The next two games against sides in the top ten are going to be tough. Obviously we go into them under a bit less pressure than everyone put us under going into this game.
"It's not about raising the performance, it's about approaching a different game against a different opponent, finding a way to get a result in that game as well. That's the whole focus there. Morocco are on a really good side."
