Scotland’s players must solve a problem of mixed emotions before turning their attentions towards the visit of the Republic of Ireland to Glasgow next month.
Gordon Strachan’s side, having trailed to Krzysztof Maczynski’s goal, led Poland 2-1 with 15 minutes of Tuesday evening’s meeting in Warsaw to play. Parity was subsequently restored, with Poland coming within the width of a post of snatching all three points, three days after they had secured a famous victory over Germany.
“We all believed that we could hold out for a result and we were a wee bit unlucky,” said the Scotland captain, Scott Brown. “We had a couple of chances ourselves and we defended really well over the whole game. A point away from home is a great result and [for that] to come away to Poland is good for us but we are a wee bit disappointed.”
Brown’s thoughts were echoed by Ikechi Anya, who set up Scotland’s opening goal for Shaun Maloney. “At the start of the match, to get a point in Poland, who had just beaten Germany 2-0 and we know how good they are after playing them in March, the majority of Scotland fans would be happy,” Anya said.
“On saying that, when you’ve got 15 minutes left and you’re 2-1 up away from home, it’s a bit disappointing but I’m sure we’ll reflect when we meet up in November that it will be a good point come the end of the campaign.
“Towards the end I think we were a bit tired and they managed to get their second but we showed a lot of character to hold on for 2-2 because towards the end they were probably the better side.” Arkadiusz Milik equalised before Kamil Grosicki struck David Marshall’s right-hand post with six minutes left.
Strachan has maintained a stance of “never knowing” when the biggest games will fall but the meeting with Ireland at Celtic Park has taken on fresh significance after John O’Shea’s dramatic equaliser in Germany. Despite heavy criticism towards the Scottish FA over ticket prices, a sell-out crowd of 60,000 on 14 November should now be secured after tickets were placed on general sale.
