Scotland 3-0 Cyprus: John McGinn and Scott McTominay get hosts off to a WINNING start

It wasn’t quite the spectacular start the Tartan Army would have hoped for, but the merits of a strong substitute bench came through when Scotland’s great players once again delivered Steve Clarke.

John McGinn’s 16th international goal settled the Scots in their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, but it wasn’t until the late arrival of Scott McTominay that the real gap between these teams was exposed.

Fellow substitute Ryan Christie had a hand in the last few goals for the Manchester United man, as the home side’s superior strength showed in a full, if slightly subdued, Hampden.

With a rocky draw effectively nullifying the team’s hard-earned elevation to second-seeded status, Scotland needed to win this at the very least.

In theory, it should be the easiest match on the qualifying show, a home tie against the lowest-placed team in the group, and for the most part Scotland dominated comfortably.

Well organized and physically robust, Temuri Ketsbaia’s Cyprus might be able to stretch his coach’s home nation of Georgia. There wasn’t much evidence to suggest they will have enough points to take points away from countries like Spain or Norway.

With Craig Gordon out at long term, Clarke was left with no choice but to choose between a trio of capless goalies. It wasn’t a surprise to see the newest face hand over the gloves.

Liam Kelly and Zander Clark have been selected for numerous previous international camps, but neither were reliable enough to see a single minute of action.

Born in England but fathered by former Scottish goalkeeper Bryan, Gunn was given the chance to transfer his fine form with Norwich onto the national stage and opposite him, his club captain Grant Hanley was there to rally the three defenders flanked by Ryan Porteous and Kieran Tierney.

The other great call of the coach was in the center of the field. McTominay and Billy Gilmour have been big players for Clarke, but neither are seeing much action at their respective employers.

Instead, Ryan Jack was given the go-ahead to repeat his proven partnership with Old Firm rival Callum McGregor, with Stuart Armstrong and McGinn encouraged to hang around in support of Ché Adams.

Clarke began his Scottish reign with a 2-1 win over the Cypriots at Hampden in 2019, a scoreline that was repeated in Nicosia later that year.

If those four years feel like another lifetime, the SFA’s decision to grant the manager an equivalent contract extension represents an important show of faith.

Clarke clinched promotion to the Nations League with a back four last autumn but, with the pivot of Tierney and Robertson restored, it made sense to go back to a three and use the attacking drive of the Premier League pair.

However, while much of Scotland’s early game was channeled naturally down the left, it was Aaron Hickey, deployed on the other flank, who engineered the team’s first shot on goal.

The Brentford boy’s ability to switch feet effortlessly left Nicholas Ioannou and Konstantinos Laifis in a tight spot, but after successfully working the angle, Demetrius Demetriou deflected his effort near the post.

You wouldn’t have described the Cypriots as dangerous, but Stuart Armstrong felt threatened enough to commit a bookable foul on Grigoris Kastanos when he broke through the resulting corner and the same player delivered a 20-yard grass cut that required Gunn to display his box. strong. hands for the first time.

The goal was a classic display of this team’s strengths.

Armstrong stepped forward with his trademark ball-carrying verve and clipped a pass with the outside of his boot to overlapping Robertson.

The captain’s cross to a nick from St Mirren’s Alex Gogic en route, but McGinn didn’t miss a beat as he came home side-footed in a simple first-time finish. An indication of offside on the opening pass made the goal subject to a VAR check, dampening the celebrations a bit before the confirmation was downloaded via referee Duje Strukan’s earpiece.

Scotland’s way of playing doesn’t maximize scoring opportunities for the starting striker, but a clever exchange with McGinn gave Adams a touch just before half time. Demetriou helped the ball go over the crossbar.

That was it for the Southampton striker who dropped out of the fray after picking up an injury when Gogic legitimately won the ball early in the second half.

In his place came Lyndon Dykes, his return to the international stage a minor triumph after his recent brush with pneumonia.

The Queen’s Park Rangers man may lack some of Adams’ intelligence, but he has been more prolific at this level and enthusiastically threw himself into the task.

Rivaled only by Hickey as Scotland’s best player, Armstrong withdrew shortly after testing Demtriou with a shot with Jack also pulling out of midfield.

In their place came Ryan Christie and McTominay, who saw blocked shots in quick succession as the push intensified by a second.

The value of the fresh legs was said as three substitutes combined to settle the result. Ryan Christie charged towards the baseline and lifted a cross to the back post where Dykes cushioned a header into the path of McTominay.

Showing the instincts of a centre-forward, the Old Trafford schemer used his thigh to work the angle to squeeze a left-foot finish inside the post.

The next one was due in no small part to the mental agility of McGinn, who fed Christie down the left with a swiftly taken free kick. His low cross was partly crossed, but Robertson pounced and rolled a pass into the path of McTominay for a quiet finish off his other foot.

Demoralized, Cyprus’ discipline dissolved and masked full-back Nicholas Ioannou received a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.

Before that late burst there was a heartbeat as Cyprus substitute Andronikos Kakoulli pulled the trigger from distance, but Gunn had enough to deflect the low bullet and maintain control of the ball, the most difficult moment of a debut that could best be described as competent.

A more demanding test of the goalkeeper’s mettle will come with a visit from Spain on Tuesday.

In the transition under the new management of Luis de la Fuente, there will be a wild card element for the visitors, but they will surely be a few levels above the Ketsbaia triers.