Energetic Scotland rock Hampden but can’t hold on

GROUP D

Scotland 1 – 1 Czech Republic
McGinn 45+1
                          Ondrasek 90+1

Duncan Gordon
Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland
Monday 15th June

With an hour played in the Glasgow sunshine, the Scots were flicking the ball around the frustrated Czech midfield to olés from the delirious Hampden crowd. Man of the Match John McGinn was positively beaming, having already scored on the stroke of half-time. Alas, it was never going to be that easy, was it? An injury-time lapse of concentration at the back by the otherwise solid Scott McKenna gifted an opportunity to Czech forward Ondrasek, who put the ball away. Cue that familiar sinking feeling for Scotland supporters.

This was the first ever European Championship finals fixture at the ageing Hampden Park and Scotland’s first appearance at a major tournament since a clammy night in St Etienne 22 years ago. The atmosphere across the city was electric. It felt as though the long-suffering Tartan Army were ready to erase all those years of disappointment. Or perhaps it was Glasgow City Council’s decision to suspend the ban on drinking alcohol in public areas for the tournament that had created all the noise.

As the least fancied team in a difficult group, the attitude in the Scotland camp has been one of having nothing to lose. After the miraculous penalty shootout victory in Belgrade, some have even been daring to dream. Manager Steve Clarke cut a menacing figure on the touchline, sporting an eyepatch due to an injury sustained from a missile thrown from the crowd in Serbia. He reflected the mood of his players and the nation by selecting two up front, with the mercurial Leigh Griffiths supporting veteran Steven Fletcher, who will retire from international football after the tournament.

Kick-off was met by the Hampden Roar of decades gone by and Scotland came at the Czechs like a greyhound at the starting gun. Premier League champion and Scotland captain Andy Robertson led by example and after 4 minutes he won the ball with a crunching tackle on the half-way line and slid in James Forrest down the left flank. Forrest twisted first inside Pavel Kaderabek then back out, leaving the Hoffenheim full-back on his back, before swinging the ball to the near post for the on-rushing Griffiths to dive at, feet first. The toe of Griffiths’s outstretched left foot reached the ball just ahead of keeper Kolar’s hand, but rippled the side-netting, rather than the back of the net.

The Czech Republic came into this game with a renewed sense of optimism after years in European football’s wilderness. Long gone are the days of Pavel Nedved and Milan Baros outclassing the Dutch in Portugal in 2004, but their qualifying campaign was largely impressive. Although it began with a 5-0 humiliation at Wembley and included defeat in Kosovo, the Czechs secured a famous win over the English at home, a result cheered as loudly in Glasgow as in Prague.

However, they looked nervy throughout the first half as Scotland piled on the pressure. Steve Clarke’s side won 5 first-half corners as the increasingly raucous crowd tried to suck the ball into the net. With half an hour played, Scott McTominay rose above Czech captain Marek Suchy and seemed to hang in the air for an age, Michael Jordan-esque, as he met an Andy Robertson corner towards the far post with his head. The ball crashed off the crossbar and back into play, falling to an off-balance Grant Hanley, who lashed his effort miles over the bar. Queue groans from the stands.

Eventually Scotland’s persistence paid off. The Czechs had been enjoying a relatively quiet five minutes at the end of the first half when a misplaced Czech throw-in in Scotland’s half fell to the feet of Aston Villa’s John McGinn. The effervescent midfielder cushioned the ball and looked up to see Steven Fletcher with his arm in the air, pressing the Czech backline towards their goal. Fletcher won the tussle with Suchy to nod down for Griffiths. The Celtic striker carried the ball towards the edge of the penalty area as the defender backed off and the fans behind the goal began to rise to their feet. He heard the shout from McGinn, who had sprinted half the pitch to catch up with play, rolled the ball behind him into the midfielder’s path, who duly laced it into the bottom corner from the 18-yard line. Hampden erupted into euphoria.

The timing could not have been better, but Steve Clarke remained stoney faced on the touchline as all those around him lost their heads and the Proclaimers’ 500 miles blared out the speaker system. There was still another 45 minutes to go.

Scotland brought their momentum onto the pitch for the second half as Forrest once again beat Kaderabek, who endured a torrid game against the Celtic winger, but sliced his low drive from the edge of the box across the face of the goal and out for a goal kick. With 15 minutes of the second period played, Scotland looked totally dominant and began to have some fun with the ball.

Yet still, for all their possession, only a few half-chances were created (and squandered). Robertson continued to make adventurous runs down the left side of the pitch, but his final ball was not up to his usual high standards.

The turning point was a foul by Norwich’s Grant Hanley on 68 minutes. The centre-back enjoyed perhaps the most distinguished season of his career in the 2019/20 Premier League and yet has continued to look unsure of himself for his national team. Slavia Prague winger Lukas Masopust drifted inside from the right towards the box, with few promising options ahead of him, when Hanley lunged and cut him down for a yellow card. Sampdoria’s Jakob Jankto rattled the resulting free kick against the underside of the crossbar, and McKenna needed to scamper across the goalmouth to head the bouncing ball over for a corner. From that set-piece, Ondrasek won the aerial battle with Hanley and shaved the post with a bullet header. The Czechs were roused, and the first murmurs of tension rippled around Hampden. Here we go again.

The following twenty minutes were a tense affair, with the Czechs creating more and more chances, while the Scots defended frantically and tried to hit them on the break. Fletcher saw a long-range drive drift just wide, while a curled effort from Masopust in the 85th minute forced Craig Gordon into a spectacular save, peddling backwards and leaping to tip the ball over the crossbar. The Scots held on once more as the home supporters hid their faces in their hands.

Perhaps they should have known what was coming. As the tannoy announced that there was to be just 2 minutes’ of injury time and the fourth official raised his board, Masopust swung a low cross into the box from the right. The ball bounced just in front of McKenna who tried to swing his right leg through it. He took his eyes off the ball for a fraction of a second and only managed to skew his clearance up and over him towards the back post. The helpless David Marshall watched the looping ball in horror along with the rest of the home nation, as Ondrasek threw his large frame towards the ball at the back post and bundled it home with his thigh.

Several of the Scotland players fell to their knees in agony as the Czechs created a dog pile in the corner of the pitch. Hampden was struck down in a stunned silence for the final two minutes, during which the demoralised home players couldn’t get the ball into the Czech penalty area.

Another promising performance that ends in disappointment. It has been the tale of the past two decades of Scottish international football, but for over an hour in Glasgow today, it felt as though things would be different. The late equaliser leaves Scotland needing a couple of unthinkable results to qualify for the next round, but it was always going to be a tall order. Having said that, it shouldn’t be too difficult for Clarke to rouse the players for what looks like a momentous clash with the Auld Enemy at Wembley in four days’ time.

Man of the Match: John McGinn

Attendance: 50,709