Scotland

If the Ukraine victory was about class, Scotland's win over Republic of Ireland was about character, overcoming their own deficiencies on the night and ...

Three games in a week is a fair old physical burden for some of Clarke's players and Stuart Armstrong, who has started just once in the league for Southampton this season, is one of them. Just one point needed now to win the group, to achieve promotion to the Nations League A-listers next time and to bank a play-off spot for Euro 2024, if needed. It's the beauty of the position that Clarke is in. In the summer, Scotland went 1-0 down in Dublin and folded. It's a sign of where his club career is at that Gilmour is probably at the back of the queue. Clarke will have been quietly delighted at the impact of his bench in these games. They had the better of midfield and had shut down all of Scotland's go-to men. The defensive nous of both men will be needed in Krakow. Ukraine made 11 changes for Saturday's 5-0 win in Armenia and some of the characters who put Scotland away in June reappeared from the start - Vitaliy Mykolenko, Viktor Tsygankov, Roman Yaremchuk. The withdrawal of Tierney and Hickey was precautionary, Clarke said. The bounce back has been impressive and loaded with storylines, the final one to be written in Poland. Before the squad was announced, Scotland lost one full-back in the captain, Andy Robertson.

The first refrain of “England's going down!” drifted down the Hampden slopes around eight minutes in. Scotland came into this match against Republic of ...

And just as was the case earlier in the summer, they opened the scoring from a set-piece. But it was a sign of Republic of Ireland’s determination to gain an early foothold in the game, just as they had done in June. Whatever the whys and wherefores, Scotland struggled to take grip of the midfield in the initial stages. The latter player left Matt Doherty in the kind of Hampden daze he might remember from the 2012 Scottish Cup final, when he played for Hibs against Hearts. A Stuart Armstrong cross from the right offered the skipper a chance to mark the occasion with a goal but he messed up the connection. With the visitors effectively playing with two high forwards in Michael Obafemi and Parrott, it might have been a night for reverting to three at the back – although that clearly hadn’t worked in Dublin. But the old stadium has rarely plunged so quickly into silence as it did after 38 minutes as Tierney fell clutching his head after a collision with Parrott in the box. A thrilling second half comeback from Scotland saw such regrets melt away – for the time being at least. Admittedly the drunkenness was not at the level of that wild occasion. Happily for Scotland and Clarke, Gordon continues to defy the odds. Scotland had Craig Gordon as well as Hendry and Christie to thank for ensuring there was no slip-up. Scotland came into this match against Republic of Ireland hoping to pass Gareth Southgate's side on the way up.

A point against Ukraine will earn Scotland promotion to the top tier and boost qualification chances for Euro 2024.

We looked really fluid in the second half.” “We never quite got it going in the first half. “It is impossible (to play for a draw).