David Marshall got the Scotland nod ahead of Craig Gordon for Scotland’s Euro 2020 opener against the Czech Republic.
After a 2-0 defeat in which Marshall was lobbed from 50 yards by Patrik Schick for the Czech’s second goal, calls for Gordon to be handed the gloves for the trip to Wembley to play England have naturally grown louder.
It’s not quite as simple as chalking it up as a Marshall howler, however.
Of course questions will be asked when your ‘keeper is beaten from that distance and Marshall was almost at the centre circle when Scotland lost the ball.
Jack Hendry’s decision to shoot was a naive one, but he couldn’t legislate for being punished quite so ruthlessly by a wonderful opportunistic strike at Hampden.
It was to be fair, the furthest someone has scored from at the European Championships since 1980.
However, based on Schick’s post-match quotes, it wasn’t a spur of the moment decision to take the shot on.
The Bayer Leverkusen striker admitted that Marshall’s advanced position was something he’d noted and was hopeful he could take advantage at some point.
He said: "I saw him [off his line], I checked in the first half when this situation would come. I was checking where he was standing."
On his team’s performance, he added: "It's always hard to play against us, we have a lot of hardworking players.
"Scotland were a tough opponent. But we were ready for their tactics."
That would suggest that Marshall was standing where he was told to, and got unlucky with the break of the ball from Hendry’s shot, although Schick’s perceptiveness meant it was taken advantage of.
However, the Derby County ‘keeper did ensure the margin of defeat wasn’t greater for Scotland.
He denied Schick in the first half with a decent stop before showing good reactions to keep the score at 2-0 late on.
Given Gordon’s ability to produce stunning stops regularly, however, calls for him to be given a shot can’t be dismissed.
Marshall wasn’t playing for Derby towards the end of the season as they avoided relegation on the last day, whereas Gordon was regularly one of Hearts’ top performers.
Away to England, it’s likely whoever is in goals for Scotland will be tested more than they were this afternoon, or perhaps will be when Croatia come to Hampden the following week.
As much as Schick’s strike was a moment of magic, having a ‘keeper between the sticks also able produce them could make all the difference.
