'Scotland's capacity for self-sabotage delivers fresh horror'

At nan end, Grant Hanley walked astir successful circles adjacent nan halfway line, for illustration a man coming location from nan pub pinch a fewer gallons connected board.

A touch bewildered, a trifle unsteady connected his feet. Eventually, his mates reached him and took him away, to his ain individual purgatory, nary doubt.

Facing nan awesome Robert Lewandowski was an Everestian feat for a Scotland squad that ships truthful galore goals but, his punishment apart, Lewandowski was quiet and contained. He was not nan unplayable 1 connected nan night.

The unplayable 1 wasn’t truthful overmuch a personification arsenic a point - it was Scotland’s ruthless capacity for self-sabotage.

They couldn’t unrecorded pinch their ain objective expertise to load nan weapon and occurrence nan contents of nan tube into their ain feet. Scotland’s ain errors did acold much harm than Lewandowski ever threatened to do.

An opener from Poland that had its origins successful Scotland losing possession and Angus Gunn not doing astir capable to support retired a changeable that was launched from astir a 4th of a mile away.

A 2nd from nan punishment spot aft nan otherwise-admirable Anthony Ralston sewage himself successful a bad spot and past made a bad decision.

Scotland had been decent and were 2-0 down. A caller benignant of torture.

The Hanley infinitesimal happened almost successful slow motion, but of course, it needed nan preamble of a rousing Scotland comeback to group nan segment for its afloat horror.

The longer this crippled went on, nan harder Scotland chased, nan much Steve Clarke transformed himself from an anxious pensioner playing nan penny slot machines pinch be aware to a fearless footballing type of nan awesome Amarillo Slim holding tribunal astatine nan poker array successful Vegas, attacking pinch abandon, throwing negativity to nan wind.

Clarke started pinch nan aforesaid aged characters. He past launched an array of imaginative players into nan fray - a mates of debutants successful Ryan Gauld and Ben Doak and an world rookie successful Lewis Morgan.

In nan parlance of nan casino, astatine 2-2, Clarke was going all-in connected triumph having looked for illustration a beaten docket astatine 2-0.

His squad was hard-running and convincing, looking to each nan world for illustration they were going to complete an enactment of escapology pinch a winner.

Doak is still a teen and hasn’t played a competitory crippled since past December, but he was a buzz explosive connected nan right.

Quite really nan kid could spell from nary superior shot successful an property to having an power successful nan maelstrom of a hopeless Hampden was remarkable.

As for Gauld, he waited 10 agelong years for this. A decade of snubs, a profession afloat of rejection from a succession of Scotland managers. He had a large impact, too.

Scott McTominay was denied a extremity successful nan first half, but he powered connected successful his domiciled arsenic Scotland’s box-crasher. When Billy Gilmour made it 2-1, nan Napoli midfielder made it 2-2 pinch a small thief from Doak and nan overlapping Ralston.

It was exhilarating and, pinch Lewandowski now substituted, location was thing to fearfulness from nan visitors.

McTominay was outstanding, galloping guardant into Poland’s heart. Hampden was arsenic live arsenic it has been since nan bully aged days erstwhile Scotland went thrusting their measurement done their Euros qualifying group.

A constituent would person been a reasonable return, but successful nan dizziness of those moments astatine 2-2, 3 points looked much likely. And past Poland went connected nan attack.

You could spot it happening, Hanley moving towards Nicola Zalewski for illustration a car sliding successful nan snow, its driver hopeless to debar different conveyance but incapable to thief himself.

Hanley had nary request to make a tackle, nary request to do it pinch his incorrect foot, nary request to clatter into Zalewski, who was going obscurity astatine nan time.

There was nary threat until nan Norwich City defender decided to inject peril into a passive moment. Why? He won’t know.

Had you asked Hanley his sanction he mightiness person needed to telephone a friend. Naturally, Zalewski scored. Gunn came close, but he seldom comes adjacent enough.

All of Scotland’s bully activity was undone and nan inquest began successful nan aftermath.

One triumph successful 13 now, which was a horrible point against Gibraltar. Buckets of goals conceded. Countless examples of Scotland being their ain worst enemy.

People are having to scrap nan bottommost of nan tube of optimism correct now. There’s not a full batch near down there.

This was their astir winnable crippled successful their Nations League group. Now comes nan hardest, distant to Portugal successful Lisbon connected Sunday. It’s only nan 900-goal Cristiano Ronaldo awaiting them. What could perchance spell wrong?

The only point that Clarke tin do is talk up nan positives, of which location were a few.

Some caller players who looked promising, a fightback that showed character, a return to shape for McTominay and different cardinal men who were posted missing successful Germany. And 2 goals.

There’s nary getting distant from nan different stuff, though. This group of players took immoderate awesome psychological hits successful Germany and, alas, nan hits are still coming.

New title and a caller benignant of calamity for nan Scotland caput coach and his shaken players to get their heads around.

What did you make of Scotland's performance? Were location signs of encouragement aliases conscionable much of nan aforesaid aft nan Euros disappointment?

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