ROBERT SNODGRASS was entitled to at least try to claim he meant his first goal of a memorable and strange hat-trick for Scotland even if it looked just a tad on the flukey side.
A cross into the box, which ended up in the Maltese net, opened the scoring for the player and his team on a night which saw Scotland's World Cup campaign begin with a 5-1 win.
His second came from a penalty that should never have been given and even his third was odd; Steven Fletcher hit the bar when he should have scored and there was Snodgrass on hand to coolly take care of the loose ball.
The Hull City player dislocated his knee on the first day of last season so who could honestly begrudge him anything other than some good luck for a change.
So did he mean it?
"Well, I just wanted to try and get the ball in the area, and if you are going to cross then aim it for the back post, and luckily enough for myself it went," said Snodgrass and at this point keeping a straight face was tricky for him.
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And then he added: "The boys have been giving me some stick but you take them and I am just delighted to get on the scoresheet.
"First and foremost it was about the result. We wanted to get off to a good start in the campaign and we have obviously managed to do that.
"They managed to score a goal to make it a little bit difficult for us but you have to take your chances at this level, we did that and it's a great night for us and a great victory."
Matt Ritchie, who himself had a superb night and has become a fine player for his country, was not about to call his team-mate lucky.
"I will listen to him," said the Newcastle United winger who had a hand in three goals and set-up many more chances. "He was great tonight and it's players like him who you need in your team to win games such as that.
"I thought we were better in the second-half, we controlled the game and it was a really good result.
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"I said beforehand that we needed to win the game to feel confident and that putting in a good performance was important. I think in the second-half we got that. We need to keep our feet on the floor because it's one game, it was a positive night."
That is most certainly was, although there were nervy moments. This, after all, is the Scotland national team. They don't do easy.
It was 1-1 at half-time and the Maltese, while far from great, did have chances to go ahead. The Scotland fans, and manager, had been there before; a game away from home which should be won that was not.
Strachan found out a lot about his players in the way they responded to the pressure of staring for a while at one of those results which brings the nation together in collective grieving and moaning.
"After being 1-0 up and then losing a goal, it becomes a big moment in peoples' careers because we have seen many teams win after being hit with a body blow," said Strachan.
"They have had to deal with the stress of the headlines which would come tomorrow and from the fans. You see it in front of you. You deal with it and they dealt with it.
"When we spoke to them at half-time we got them to clear their minds again, and that's what happened. We moved a couple of things about a bit, we were too open and wide in the first-half, we were too compact to pass through them, the players worked at that.
"It was their ability, determination and mental strength, more than anything else, because you could see at 1-1 the headlines would be horrific."
Strachan now believes he has players competing for every position which was not the case when he first took the job.
"We have a lot of young guys and that was a good experience for them, " he told Sky. "The squad has been freshened up and so to start with a win, it makes the journey to the Czech Republic, Denmark at home, France and Italy away worthwhile when you bring through the young lads.
"I was speaking after the match to Barrie McKay and he has impressed us so much in training. That's what I want in people when they come along. I want them to impress us on and off the pitch.
"Barry has done that. It's a real bonus. I know now that if I have to play Barry McKay it's not going to be a problem."
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