A trip to a small European city like Larnaca, knowing a win would mean one foot in the door at a major tournament, used to engender the worst version of Scotland.
Travelling fans would be anxious, riddled by flashbacks of desperate occasions in Georgia and Macedonia. Players would know the onus was on them to attack, but they would look paralysed by fear and sink into themselves.
Not any more.
The Tartan Army travelled to Cyprus on Friday confident in the knowledge that their country had won 10 consecutive qualifying matches. Barring one too many pints of Keo, 99 per cent of them could tell you what the starting XI was going to be. Most could probably have guessed the first goalscorer, too, which goes some way to explaining why Scotland have struck the perfect balance over the past six months.
It was Scott McTominay, again, who set his country on the way to a 3-0 victory which has put them on the brink of qualifying for Euro 2024 with 15 points from 15.
Had John McGinn’s initial header gone in it would not have been a surprise given that, by the end of the evening, he had 17 goals in his last 43 caps, but that McTominay was there at the back post to divert home was just as predictable.
McTominay dives to nod home McGinn’s flick in Cyprus (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
He has six goals in his last five appearances for Scotland — making him joint-top of the Euro qualifying goalscoring charts alongside Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku and Denmark’s Rasmus Hojlund. He might have grabbed further rewards when he made a late run to meet Andy Robertson’s cross only to steer his shot behind, before hitting the post with a curling effort late on.
Scotland may lack a top forward — like the Republic of Ireland boast in Evan Ferguson, or Wales had in Gareth Bale — but, at present, it matters not. In netting twice in the opening 16 minutes in Cyprus, they established their earliest two-goal advantage in an away game since May 1969 against Wales.
When you have two midfielders in McGinn and McTominay producing centre-forward goalscoring numbers, the absence of a prolific No 9 tends not to matter.
The latter is a player reinvented at international level, performing a role which has unlocked the best version of him — something four Manchester United managers have been unable to do.
While he is capable of playing as a holding midfielder who keeps it simple, or a disruptor who fills in gaps, the 26-year-old is showing that his true super-strength lies as a number eight charged with breaking into the penalty area.
In the 6-2 thumping of Leeds at Old Trafford in December 2020, he offered a glimpse of his capabilities. He scored two goals in quick succession, both by running off his marker from deep — a consistent theme of the last six months for Scotland.
In the 3-0 win over Cyprus at Hampden in March he gambled on Lyndon Dykes flicking the ball on before controlling and volleying home in the one action. His second goal that day saw him hold his position at the edge of the box for a cutback, which he caressed first time into the bottom corner.
Frank Lampard was the master of timing his run, and McTominay has shown a similar ability — the kind goalscoring midfielders need.
Against Georgia in June he galloped forward and, despite the rainy surface and several players around him, took the ball in his stride and rifled home with his left foot from the edge of the area.
He has clean striking ability off either foot and, against Spain, it was again a late surge to the edge of the box which saw him arrive perfectly to connect with a cross that had been headed out.
Four of his six goals have been with his left foot. “I think it’s the ‘V’ (haircut) he’s sporting — he’s gone for the Fernando Torres,” McGinn joked of his team-mate’s recent goal glut.
In truth, it is Clarke’s positional trial and error which has led to the discovery that McTominay’s best role is as a number eight charged with joining in the final phase of attacks.
It was not so long ago that McTominay, despite being one of the few Scotland players operating at the very elite level, felt like an odd part in this national set-up. He possessed a unique skillset, but finding a set role which maximised his qualities while complementing the 3-5-2/3-4-2-1 shape was an ongoing puzzle.
From the disjointed 1-1 Nations League draw against Israel in September 2020 to last June’s 3-1 World Cup play-off loss at Hampden to a war-stricken Ukraine side, McTominay was used in a three-man defence in 13 of his 22 starts.
While Kieran Tierney has since settled into that role on the left side of the defence, there was never quite the same sense of comfort with McTominay. It felt like he was doing a job for the team, sacrificing his natural game to plug a hole. Since Ryan Porteous and Jack Hendry have made the other two centre back berths their own there is no such crisis.
That Ukraine loss was the point when Clarke seems to have made the definitive decision. He was going to play with three recognised defenders and McTominay either started in midfield or would not be in the XI.
In the first game of this qualifying campaign against Cyprus he began on the bench behind Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack and Celtic counterpart Callum McGregor. His 23-minute cameo contained two goals and a message that his selection should be considered a non-negotiable.
Prior to that game, though, he simply had not look as comfortable as Billy Gilmour, McGregor or Jack when it came to receiving the ball as the deepest midfielder and controlling games. He had a couple of dominant performances, but there were others when he appeared stymied by the discipline required.
Clarke has eliminated that part of the game from his duties.
Gilmour and McGregor are there to do the intricate build-up. McTominay’s job is to crash into the box along with McGinn. “The manager gives me a lot of freedom to get in the box and make things happen,” said McTominay on Friday. “He’s shown a lot of faith in me and I want to repay him.”
The prolific McGinn and McTominay (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
He has played just seven minutes under Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag this season. Even last campaign he was limited to 19 starts in all competitions, but those appearances were usually as part of a double pivot alongside Fred or Casemiro — not as the marauding goalscorer we see in navy blue.
Given their struggle to find balance in midfield this season, the attacking prowess McTominay is demonstrating so regularly for his country may yet offer Ten Haag cause for a rethink. Clarke has succeeded where too many United managers have fallen short.
(Top photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
