STEVE Clarke has revealed the high-risk tactic that enabled Scotland to dominate Serbia in the Euro 2020 play-off final in Belgrade and reach their first major tournament finals since France ’98.
Clarke’s side were vastly superior to their highly-fancied rivals in the Rajko Mitic Stadium last night and only failed to triumph in regulation time when they conceded a last-minute equaliser at a corner.
The former Kilmarnock boss, whose side will go into Group D along with Croatia, the Czech Republic and England, rated it as the best performance of his 19-month reign after the dramatic penalty shoot-out victory.
He decided that starving main goal threats Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinikovic-Savic of service and staying tight to Dusan Tadic would be key after studying Serbia’s play-off semi-final win over Norway in Oslo last month.
Clarke knew that pushing Kieran Tierney, Declan Gallagher and Scott McTominay high up the park could leave Scotland exposed defensively – but his gamble proved to be a masterstroke.
“I watched the Serbia- Norway game many times,” he said. “It was Serbia’s best performance for a long time. They were very good and we knew this would be difficult.
“We knew we have to limit the supply to Mitrovic and Milinkovic-Savic. Big targets. We also had to try and control Dusan Tadic, who is a top, top player.
“We risked a little because we played almost three v three and pressed high up the pitch. But it paid off for us.
“Every player turned up. I’m not just talking about the 11 who started, but the boys on the bench and the way the rest of the squad conducted themselves.
“Everyone was together. And that’s why we succeeded. For a long time, we have been building this group of players and that’s why we got the rewards.”
Clarke, whose side took the lead through Ryan Christie in the second-half, was always confident Scotland could recover from the late leveller Luka Jovic slotted home and book their place at Euro 2020.
“The players showed unbelievable character and they deserved their reward when it got to penalty kicks,” he said. “Twice in two big games that group of players have held their nerve.
“It was a deserved victory. I know penalties can be lucky but over the game – especially the 90 minutes – it was a deserved victory.
“I told them to keep believing. Sometimes you get a blow at the end of the game and you can allow that to affect the start of extra-time. I told them just to keep believing and working hard.
“We spoke about being 90 minutes from Euro 2020. At half-time it was 45. We had another 30 minutes to achieve what we wanted to. And that’s what we did.
Clarke was glad Scotland were able to lift the spirits of an entire nation during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
“For everyone throughout the world in this global pandemic, it has been a very difficult time,” he said. “For the people in Scotland, it has been very difficult.
“We spoke before the game about trying to make the nation smile on Friday morning. If we done a bit to make them feel a bit better about themselves, about the country, that’s great.
“I think it’s going to take a little longer for it to sink in, but we do know what we’ve achieved. We do know what we set out achieve.
“We have been building slowly and spoken about positivity in the group. Tonight we see the rewards of that.
“Obviously, we will prepare for the two Nations League games coming up (against Slovakia on Sunday and Israel on Wednesday) because they are very important for us.
“We want to finish top of that section and be winners there are well. But if we are going to have a little celebration it will remain strictly private and confidential.”
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