Scott McTominay strike has Tartan Army dreaming of Euro 2024 history

AS the team came striding out the tunnel the roar could have raised the dead.

In some ways, it did.

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Steve Clarke’s Scotland needed all the help they could get to resurrect their Euros hopes.

And with the backing of the Tartan Army they breathed new life into their Group A chances.

The travelling fans were loud and proud in Cologne for this must-not-lose clash with Switzerland.

And they got the response they were looking for.

Scott McTominay’s deflected strike may have been cancelled out by a sensational wonder goal from Xherdan Shaquiri after a bad mistake from Tony Ralston.

But this was a result and performance that gives them a fighting chance of making into the last 16 ahead of Sunday’s final group game with Hungary.

It could have ended better, it could have been worse.

But by time up there wasn’t a Scotland supporter here or at home who could have asked for any more.

Clarke is too stubborn to admit he got his line-up for the Germany game wrong.

But picking Billy Gilmour for this one could be construed as an admission of guilt.

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Other than the forced change which saw Grant Hanley replace suspended Ryan Porteous, that was it.

Clarke kept faith with the nine other players who played so miserably in Munich.

Each and every one of them owed their manager for giving them a second chance.

Just as they were in debt to the travelling Tartan Army and the millions more watching back home.

Scotland Player Ratings

By Andy Devlin

Angus Gunn: Watched five fly past him on Friday night in Munich. Beaten all ends up by a brilliant finish as the Swiss drew level. Made two big saves to deny Ndoye, the second one a truly fantastic stop…..7.

Jack Hendry: The Al-Ettifaq defender won’t come up against the class of the Germans or Swiss in Saudi Arabia. His pace was vital at times last night as he linked superbly with the returning Hanley….7.

Grant Hanley: With Ryan Porteous suspended, the Norwich City defender was reinstated to the starting line up. Just six starts for his club this season but so close to a goal, his header coming back off the post…7.

Kieran Tierney: Immediately signalled to the bench after being turned by Ndoye. Looked in considerable distress as he was stretched off. It’s another hammer blow for the full-back with his tournament surely over….6.

Anthony Ralston: Nightmare moment that will haunt the Celtic star for the rest of his career. It’s not clear what the full-back was trying to do, but his woeful pass back gifted Switzerland an equaliser…5.

Billy Gilmour: Missed out in Munich, chosen ahead of Christie in Cologne. Was the catalyst for the opening goal, bringing the ball down on his chest and sending Robertson scampering clear. Always wanting the ball….7.

Callum McGregor: The Celtic captain had nothing to celebrate on his 31st birthday last Friday night. But this was much more like it as the midfielder played his part in a much improved performance…7.

Andy Robertson: Brilliant driving run for the opening goal. The captain promised there would be a reaction and there certainly was. He set the standards as Steve Clarke’s side finally announced their arrival in the tournament..7.

Scott McTominay: Deployed in the No.10 role, primarily to stop Xhaka dictating the play. The talisman in qualifying was eventually credited with Scotland’s goal, despite the clear deflection off Schar….7.

John McGinn: By his own admission. the poster boy of the Tartan Army just hasn’t got going in the Euros. Left chasing shadows in Munich, he was on the fringes of the action again against Switzerland…6

Che Adams: What a shift the Southampton striker put in. Ran himself into the ground. Such a thankless task, but he shouldered the responsibility. One half chance deep inside first half stoppage time….7.

Subs: Scott McKenna: The man with no club came on for the injured Tierney and picked up a yellow card inside five minutes.

Kenny McLean: Replaced Billy Gimour as Scotland chased the winner….3.

Lawrence Shankland: The Hearts striker came off the bench in injury time, could have a part to play against Hungary….2.

Ryan Christie: Not much time to make an impact…2.

Another half-hearted performance simply couldn’t be tolerated.

To a man, they knew it.

If they had any fear before kick-off, they left it behind in the changing room before they walked out.

Because the way they started this game was night and day from last Friday night.

They deserved to go ahead after 13 minutes with the goal giving the travelling fans the moment they’d been waiting for.

Sure, they saw their team hit the net in the Germany defeat.

But the wild scenes of celebration when McTominay scored meant something so, so much more.

The deflection off defender Fabian Schar helped it in on its way, of course it did.

Chances are, Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer would have saved the shot from the Manchester United midfielder.

But the build-up which saw Scotland break with so much purpose deserved that slice of luck.

Gilmour’s touch at the beginning of the move was crucial.

A split-second example of how he sees things differently from the vast majority of his team-mates. And has the technical ability to play the pass he envisages.

The run from Andy Robertson saw him charge into the box before sliding a pass to Callum McGregor who also bust a gut get forward in support.

Again, something that just didn’t happen in the first group game.

For a moment it looked like the Celtic skipper had taken the momentum out of the attack when he chopped back onto his left foot.

But when he played a cut-back for McTominay, he did the rest.

The Swiss looked stunned.

But they were to have their moment in the first-half to make it 1-1 in 26 minutes.

Ralston will have a sleepless night thinking about it.

Over and over again, it will be churning around in his mind as he lays staring at the ceiling.

And you can bet he still won’t be able to come up with an answer on what the hell he was doing.

He wasn’t looking when he attempted to play a pass inside to centre-back Hanley. Had absolutely no idea the danger that was lurking.

But still. No-one could legislate for the finish from Shaquiri.

It was simply out of this world.

If Angus Gunn didn’t cover himself in any glory at the Germany opener, here he was utterly blameless.

The star of Switzerland had the precision of a Swiss-made watch as he found the top corner with inches to spare.

It was just so galling from a Scotland point of view. Such a needless goal to concede.

Clarke would have been forgiven for substituting Ralston there and then, the Celtic squad player clearly rattled by the costly lapse in concentration.

Jack Hendry ran across to slap him on the back in a much needed show of support.

But for the next ten minutes Ralston had to dig deep into his reserves of resilience just to stop himself from crumbling completely.

Switzerland could have taken the lead before the break.

The had the ball in the Scotland net with a VAR check ruling out a strike from Dan Ndoye for off-side. Replays showed it couldn’t have been any closer.

Scotland came out for the second half with renewed energy.

The loss of Kieran Tierney after an hour – when he had to be carted off by stretcher with a hamstring injury – was a major blow.

You sometimes feel that if the former Celtic defender didn’t have bad luck he wouldn’t have any luck at all.

It was at that moment the Swiss passed up a brilliant chance to take the lead.

In 67 minutes came the ‘what if’ moment for Scotland.

From a Robertson free-kick, Hanley’s thumped a header off the post which could easily gone into the net.

But it wasn’t to be.

Thankfully, too, neither was the cool finish from Swiss sub Breel Embolo in 82 minutes with a late off-side flag rightly going up after he clipped past Gunn.

In the end, though, a draw was enough to keep Scotland’s group hopes alive.

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