IT was a game that Scotland wished they didn’t have to play. But if they had to, they were as well doing it right.
It was a friendly, sure, but in name only. By far the most important aspect of the night of course was the money raised by the bumper crowd in aid of UNICEF’s work in Ukraine, with that nation’s absence from the stadium where they should have been duking it out on the field for a place in the World Cup play-off final lending a poignancy to the occasion.
But it was also a chance for Scotland to not only show their support for such a worthy cause, but also to show that the good feeling that had this stadium bouncing back in November hadn’t dissipated in the four months since. And there was momentum to maintain.
From the strength of Steve Clarke’s starting line-up to the pumped up support from both nations, the niggle in the challenges to the swaggering intent from the Scots right from the off, this had the feeling of a competitive affair.
Nobody in dark blue epitomised the zest, energy and commitment that is now flowing through this Scotland side more than Nathan Patterson and Billy Gilmour, who may not have had their troubles to seek at club level this season, but who surely cannot doubt how highly they are valued by their country.
This young pair are worth their weight in gold to Clarke and their team, and are priceless to the swooning Tartan Army.
Right from the start, it was they who caught the eye. Patterson was all thrust and energy down the right, Gilmour a buzz-bomb of activity off the ball in the midfield, but exuding a Zen-like presence when it was at his feet.
Patterson signalled the intent of the Scots right away, almost bringing the house down with an early barnstorming charge from his wing-back station.
The 20-year-old slalomed past three challenges, getting into the area before his left-foot just let him down at the last moment, scuffing his shot a little to allow the impressive – and busy - Lukasz Skorupski to save in the Polish goal.
Patterson is going through a difficult time of it at Everton since he made the move from Rangers in January, managing just 45 minutes so far before being hooked in an FA Cup game against Boreham Wood. Barely trusted by Frank Lampard to take on the might of the seventh-placed team in the English National League, he was a standout against one of the top 30 teams in international football.
On this evidence, Seamus Coleman and Jonjoe Kenny – who struggled on loan at Celtic last season – must be in some form.
He might have done better when in a good position once more mind you as he seized upon a mistake in the Poland midfield and surged forward, but his right-foot effort this time was too central and Skorupski was equal to it again.
How he and then a host of other Scots didn’t break the deadlock moments later is anyone’s guess, though Skorupski at least had a fair bit to do with it. A cross was headed out to Patterson to meet on the half-volley, this time his connection was true, and the Polish keeper could only palm to the edge of the area.
Gilmour was first on the scene, as he was so often, and Skorupski produced a fantastic diving save to keep the ball from flying into his bottom right-hand corner. Even then, the ball ricocheted around the area, with heroic blocks from the Polish defence the only thing denying John McGinn from bundling home.
Gilmour showed there is more to him than just his impressive passing range when he bullied Grzegorz Krychowiak off the ball in the midfield, burst into the number 10 position and produced an incisive reverse pass to put McGinn in on goal.
The captain for the night skipped round Skorupski, with the keeper’s outstretched fingertips grazing his foot to knock him off balance. Had he gone down, he would surely have got the penalty, but his honesty cost him, and he was unable to reach the ball to turn home.
If that was a glimpse of Gilmour’s tenacity and willingness to graft for the team, the Hampden crowd were left in little doubt of it just after the hour, as a superhuman effort from the midfielder prevented the Poles from hitting the front.
Scott McTominay slipped, allowing Krzysztof Piatek to run in on goal. He turned Grant Hanley inside and out, then picked his spot beyond Craig Gordon, but Gilmour had scarpered back in behind his keeper to produce a miraculous goal-line clearance.
Just after, Patterson took his leave, hardly surprising given it was the longest he had been on a football field for several months. Both full-backs were swapped out, Stephen O’Donnell replacing Patterson and Aaron Hickey getting a debut in place of Greg Taylor, another glimpse of a talented youngster for the increasingly giddy Scottish support.
Those two arrived just in time to celebrate Scotland taking the lead, McGinn’s brilliant free-kick headed home expertly by Kieran Tierney.
Gilmour too was given a rest with 15 minutes to go, but these two had shown just why in Scotland’s increasingly bright-looking future, they are the leading lights.
An injury-time penalty leveller - won and scored by Piatek - certainly stung a little in the short-term, but on this evidence, the long-term looks to be shaping up very nicely for the Scots.
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