Chris Martin may not have got the final touch for the goal that injected new life into Scotland’s World Cup qualification bid, but the substitute did not care after he forced Martin Skrtel into the error that made the difference at Hampden last night.
“You saw in my celebrations that I didn’t run off and try and claim it, but it meant a lot to us,” said the man who had received a lukewarm reception when he took the field midway through the second half.
“We celebrated as a team because we were frustrated we didn’t take the lead earlier. We got the job done. We were unlucky not to score earlier, because we got lots of crosses into the box.”
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That sums up the attitude that has allowed the squad to revive a campaign that looked all but over at the halfway stage and with their destiny now in their own hands Martin is hoping that he can save a winner of his own for Sunday’s meeting with Slovenia.
“It would be nice to finish it all off,” he said.
“I’m sure I’ll dream about it between now and then, but everyone has contributed and I’m not going to try and claim the credit for what has been done here.
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“Everyone has played their part, no matter big or small. Ultimately, though, we haven’t done anything yet. There is a massive game left and we need to make sure we get the result.”
Martin’s introduction helped lift Scotland in the closing stages and he and Leigh Griffiths had both rattled the crossbar before that winner that he always felt was coming, went in.
“When I came on, I always felt involved and always felt there were chances in the game. I always felt confident. We were getting plenty of ball forward and we were in and around their box. The key is we kept believing,” he said.
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“We worked very hard in this campaign to get to a point like this and we didn’t want to throw it away. That belief and charcater kept us going.
“It seem a bit fortunate with the timing of the goal, but we fully deserved the result.”
As much as the Scotland players enjoyed the atmosphere generated by the Hampden crowd at the end of the match, however, Matt Phillips reckoned they had reaped the benefit of the mood they had created amongst themselves ahead of it.
“There were high spirits before the game. Everyone was up for it after a good week’s training and walking about with smiles on their faces and “and something you’re proud to be involved with,” he said.
He indicated that manager Gordon Strachan had set the tone for that.
“He praised our character and the way we went about our job tonight, but that all comes from the manager.”
They know they must now carry that feeling into the weekend and that bid to claim the victory that will take them into the play-offs for a place at the finals in Russia next year.
“It doesn’t get any bigger in an international. These are the games you want to be involved in,” he said.
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