THEY showed Leigh Griffiths’ two free kick goals against England at Hampden shortly before kick-off last night. The noise produced from the big screens that echoed around the half-empty stadium would prove to be the loudest roar of the night.

Scotland fans most be among the most loyal in world football – they have had little return on their investment over the past two decades – but even they can’t be fooled into thinking a Monday night encounter against Malta on a chilly September evening is something that it isn’t.

The atmosphere couldn’t have been further from the fervour that had gripped this corner of Glasgow just three months earlier when the Auld Enemy were in town. Hampden was rocking that day, one of the rare occasions when the national stadium was capable of proving a backdrop to match the spectacle.

It wasn’t anywhere near as raucous tonight, even after the confidence boost that was Friday evening’s comprehensive dismantling of Lithuania in Vilnius. Charging upwards of £30 wouldn’t have helped entice much of a late walk-up crowd either. Football fans rarely stint when asked to pay through the nose for tickets but sometimes it is simply a price tag and a game too far. This felt like one of those days.

Those who did fork out their money – the attendance was given as 26,371 - did their best to back the team. Gordon Strachan had asked for their patience, warning it wouldn’t be a walkover against a team who would be deeper than a conversation between two Mensa existentialists, although a goal after just nine minutes from Christophe Berra removed any lingering nervous tension that Scotland would somehow not win the game. After all, the Tartan Army have suffered enough over the years to know a victory against any level of opposition can never be taken for granted in advance.

Any notion of panic extinguished by the early goal, the Hampden crowd reverted to an almost reverent hush for the most part, perhaps glad for some temporary Monday night quiet after a heavy weekend. There were cheers when Leigh Griffiths put Scotland two up early in the second half after substitute James Morrison had struck the post, a few more oohs and aaahs at several other close things, and some murmured relief when Grant Hanley and Craig Gordon combined to keep out a rare Maltese chance in front of goal. A few half-hearted attempts to break into song quickly fizzled out, while a late rendition of Flower of Scotland was performed almost sotto voce.

There was also the surely unheralded scenario of Scotland fans welcoming news of England goals, cheers breaking out across Hampden at word that Gareth Southgate’s men had first drawn level against Slovakia midway through the first half and then moved ahead around the hour mark. It was another sign that the wide-eyes dreamers of the Tartan Army can be pragmatists at times, too. An England victory may have ordinarily been wholly unpalatable to them but it is the result that keeps alive Scotland’s chances of qualifying from this World Cup qualifying group.

It now goes down to the last two games and it will surely be noisier and busier when Slovakia come to Hampden on October 5. For starters it will be a Thursday night rather than a miserable Monday, offering the more socially-minded the ideal opportunity to start the weekend early. Against better opposition and with plenty more at stake – Scotland ought to move into second place with a victory – it ought to be a livelier affair. After this Monday night hush, it wouldn’t really be hard.