One regret lingered for Craig Conway as he left the Hampden pitch last Friday night.
An inopportune bobble lifted the ball over his foot during the first-half, when he was lining up a shot on goal from close range, so it was his calf that skewed the effort wide. It was a personal setback, but one that the team bemoaned, too, since it was the best chance that Scotland created.
Conway maintained some perspective, though, since the overall experience was an improvement on bleaker moments this season. He was part of the Cardiff City squad that won the Championship last season, but he did not fully make the journey into the Barclays Premier League.
The former Dundee United winger had been peripheral for much of the campaign when an emergency loan deal to Brighton allowed him to revive his season.
That, in turn, led to further involvement with Scotland. Strachan likes his wide players to be attack-minded, although there will always be defensive responsibilities to attend to.
Ikechi Anya quickly established himself as a vibrant figure on the left flank, where Shaun Maloney and Steven Naismith can also perform. Conway is more of a conventional winger than the latter two, although some of his crossing last Friday night at Hampden was awry.
"It's a bit more progress," he said of Scotland's performance. "Maybe we were a wee bit sloppy with our chances at times, but on the whole we're still moving forward. I should have scored in the first half myself, we had a few other half chances, but the final ball let us down a wee bit. Overall, especially judging by the result last year, it's an improvement. It's a friendly, but you get out of it what you put in and we tried to do the right things.
"It's going really well at Brighton. I'm playing, I'm enjoying it and that's what keeps me in with a chance of a Scotland jersey. My emergency loan runs out on December 14, you're only allowed 93 days, so I can't go out on loan again or move permanently until January 1. I've got six or seven games to play before I need to worry about that. I could potentially go back to Brighton, though. I'll just need to go back to Cardiff and train.
"I'd rather be out playing than sitting rotting away at Cardiff, though. I'd hate to be one of those players who sits and just picks up his wages at a team. I want to play."
Life in Brighton has become settled for Conway, with his partner having given birth to a baby boy two months ago. There is personal and professional contentment, and he was joined in the Scotland starting line-up last Friday night by a teammate. Gordon Greer was earning his first international cap, and played solidly enough alongside Grant Hanley, the young Blackburn Rovers defender.
Afterwards, Strachan suggested that it would not be Greer's last involvement with the Scotland set-up.
At 32, the player can still believe that international football is within his reach and Conway insisted that Greer would continue to be a welcome addition to the Scotland side, having competently marshalled Jozy Altidore and Eddie Johnson, the US strikers.
"He's done brilliantly - it's been a long time coming, and he can be delighted with the way he played against two top centre forwards," Conway said. "He's always composed on the ball at Brighton, he comes out with the ball well, picks out passes. It's great to see him getting a cap but he's earned it.
"It's been hard to fit him in though, because the centre-halves have been doing really well. But friendlies are good for that, it shows the manager he can handle it. I've played against Gordon a few times when I was at Cardiff and it was always tough."
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