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A mate texted on Tuesday night: “Only in Scotland could you have a football match almost abandoned because of a waterlogged pitch in the middle of a heatwave.”

It was a salient point and one which served as two fingers up at all those summer football campaigners who for years have told us that the Scottish game would be far better served if it were played between the months of March and September, conveniently forgetting that in Scotland, at least, the guarantee of good weather during the summer months usually extends to about two weeks of the season.

There was something comically brilliant about the first six minutes at Hampden on Tuesday. It brought back memories of a time when you would either watch or take part in matches that were a couple of inflatables and fancy dress costumes shy of an event on BBC television game show It's A Knockout.

The rain undoubtedly played its part in helping Scotland on their way to a campaign-defining win over Georgia. It was a match that encapsulated just how Scotland's luck has changed under Steve Clarke, a manager who if he were filling in his lottery ticket in the local supermarket would have a queue behind him just so that punters might get a peek of his number selections. When John McGinn's corner in the sixth minute was cleared by the Georgian defence the ball landed perfectly at the feet of Callum McGregor who had plenty to do but still executed a brilliant finish.

The rain assisted 'lay-off' was every bit as perfect as that which Lyndon Dykes produced for Kenny McLean's winner in Oslo a few days earlier. No wonder, after celebrating his goal lustily, McGregor could be seen joking with Willy Sagnol, the Georgia manager, about whether the game should continue. “Come on, let's play,” McGregor appeared to be saying the France World Cup legend with a playful grin on his face.

The Herald:

Off they went and on came a handful of sweepers came on to the park to clear oceans of water from the playing surface, an act which appeared to be having all the impact of emptying a swimming pool with a teaspoon. As Scotland fans sang their way through the gloom, the only individual missing was a guy with a handheld car vacuum cleaner with the setting turned to spillages. Even the most optimistic, glass half-full punter could tell that it was going to be closer to hours rather than minutes before the pitch would be cleared; the great irony being that Istvan Vad refused to resume the game at a time when the pitch was in infinitely better condition than the state it had been in when he assented to kick off at 7.45pm.

Meanwhile, on newspaper sports desks across Scotland, there was chaos: the high-heid yins at the print sites were called at home, deadlines were pushed back, first edition running orders were hastily rescheduled and then there was the interminable wait: with Scotland 2-0 to the good, pictures, headlines and captions were already written.

The last thing that was required was any further delay, a couple of Georgia goals or even a late penalty which might alter a table or scoreline box. Kvicha Kvaratskhelia earned the gratitude of sub-editors everywhere – those serried ranks previously cursing his name and those of his multi-voweled team-mates – when he graciously blasted his injury-time spot kick high into the Glasgow skyline.

No one was going to dampen Scotland's night.