MUCH has been made of the re-invention of the national team under Gordon Strachan, but visitors to Ibrox yesterday may have recognised some elements of the same old Scotland.

The last international played at this venue, back in October 1999, ended in a nervy 1-0 win over Bosnia, courtesy of a John Collins penalty, and on this evidence the intervening 15 years have done little to change the lot of the average Tartan Army footsoldier.

While just shy of 35,000 went through agonies late on as substitute Irakli Dzaria tugged a late effort wide of the post, in truth this analysis was somewhat unfair to Scotland yesterday.

While they could clearly have been more clinical with their final pass, that Dzaria effort was the closest Georgia came all day to dirtying the gloves of David Marshall in the Scotland goal.

This conflicted little nation in the Caucasus has a habit of throwing a spoke in the works - a 2-0 defeat in Tbilisi in October 2007 was a major downer in our Euro 2008 near-miss - but yesterday they appeared determined to shoot themselves in the foot, and it was an own goal from defender Akuki Khubutia that gave Scotland their first precious three points towards ending their 18-year exile from major finals.

To continue the retro theme, it was like May 2009 all over again when the team sheets came out. Strachan was Celtic manager back then, controversially recalling Shaun Maloney at the expense of Aiden McGeady for an Old Firm match at Ibrox which Rangers won, and once again there was a show of faith in the Wigan player after a week of cloak-and-dagger hints and misinformation about his team selection.

Darren Fletcher, who allegedly still had a chance of being captain on Friday, fell victim to his lack of first-team club games. His namesake Steven came in to lead the attack. Ryan Gauld, despite hints about how well he performed in training, didn't even make the 23. That meant four changes in all from the side which had performed creditably in defeat in Dortmund.

Even Temuri Ketsbaia, the under-fire Georgia boss with a Dundonian past life, threw in a surprise, leaving Jano Ananidze of Spartak Moscow and Tornike Okriashvili of Alex McLeish's Genk in reserve. The Georgians, perhaps cowed by a 19-match winless away run, embarked on the kind of bus-parking exercise last seen at this venue on Rangers' run to the Uefa Cup final.

It didn't take long to discern that this game would be won and lost on the flanks. After the kind of sleepy opening the Georgians would have wanted, Scotland's full-backs were encouraged to use the space being left for them. Using Andy Robertson as a decoy, Maloney cut on to his right and whistled in a low cross, which almost led to an own goal by the head of Khubutia. A dangerous Robertson run and cross was called back for a foul on the goalkeeper by Fletcher.

The pressure was building, and the dam duly broke. Another Robertson cross was allowed to reach the back post, where Maloney lurked. He drilled the ball at goal and keeper Giorgi Loria got in the way, only for the ball to strike the luckless screening Georgia defender and trickle agonisingly over the line. It might not have been his third Scotland goal, but it was still vengeance of a sort for Maloney, a survivor from that depressing 2007 night in Tbilisi. It said something for the palpable sense of relief that the celebrations were joined by an interloper from the Sandy Jardine stand.

The own goal was timed at 28 minutes and for the next quarter of an hour Scotland lorded it without the ability to engineer a second with their own efforts.

A more precise touch from the usually footsure Steven Naismith might have done the trick after a sweet move including Maloney and Fletcher, while Scott Brown was inches off target after Alan Hutton made inroads down the right. Half-time gave the Georgians a chance to re-organise, but the match stuck to the same pattern, Scotland moves too often foundering at the final pass, with the growing fear of a mis-step at the back causing a catastrophic Georgia equaliser.

Hearts around Ibrox skipped a beat when Grant Hanley presented Nikoloz Gelashvili with an opening he fired wildly over, then there were sighs in frustration when Naismith couldn't beat Loria after Hutton played him in down the right.

This was a tormenting evening for the Everton striker, who tugged another chance wide after a Steven Fletcher flick, and was the man sacrificed when Strachan sought to shore things up late on. James Morrison also ran through to test Loria, while a Maloney corner was headed over by Hanley.

Tense as it was, there was comedy too. Scott Brown was so wrapped in warfare with his opposite number Jaba Kankava of Dnipro that his entire kit appeared ripped by the end. Precious seconds were lost in confusion as the fourth official and his electronic subs board failed to register a late Scotland substitution. The football gods, as Strachan said all week, can defy even the best-laid plan, but for once they smiled on Scotland.