Cristiano Ronaldo made his long-awaited Hampden Park debut on Tuesday. Portugal entered the night confidently as their Nations League group stage success looked to continue after a 3-1 win in Poland on Saturday. Meanwhile Scotland looked to bounce back after a 2-1 loss to Croatia over the weekend. Sam Mackenzie reports:
“Although the overriding emotion was disappointment, our performance was one that we believed merited more than the end result,” lamented Scotland boss Steve Clarke regarding the loss in Zagreb. Clarke’s Scotland team are currently ravaged with injuries, none more significant than that of midfield engine John McGinn. Scotland came into Tuesday’s tie feeling hard done by yet again, after their third defeat in three Nations League matches.
“We have shown in our performances, if not our results – that we can be competitive at this level,” – Steve Clarke
Tuesday presented another chance to display that sentiment with the visit from the 2016 European Champions, captained by football’s megastar – Cristiano Ronaldo.
Scotland’s best chance from first half came after just five minutes of play when Scott McTominay got on the end of a cross from Andy Robertson before a stop was made by Diogo Costa.
What followed was a rather dominant display from the visiting side, with large spells of the game being played in Scotland’s half. Nevertheless, there was no shortage of resilience from the hosts in their efforts to limit the danger.
Craig Gordon – who became Scotland’s oldest-ever starter in the Croatia tie – was calm and collected when called upon. Portugal came closest just after the half-hour mark when Ronaldo put an overhead kick narrowly wide.
The determination on display from the Scots was nothing new to the Hampden crowd, among whom some continue to ponder why recent performances haven’t materialised into results.
“It is difficult when you put so much into a game… and ultimately come away with no points but that’s what happens at this level,” remarked centre-back John Souttar in a pre-match comment. After the first forty-five minutes, a Nations League point was once more well within reach for the Scots.
The Portuguese continued to look the more threatening side as play continued.
Although, despite their lion’s share of the chances, Ronaldo’s late winner a month ago in Lisbon exposed how fine the margin can be between these two sides.
Young Juventus star Francisco Conceição was the bright spot in the early parts of the second half as his side continued to probe in search of a breakthrough. It was after an hour that the changes began, with Rafael Leão and Ryan Gauld among the fresh introductions.
Barring a few threatening breaks into space for both countries, the game continued to lack the cutting edge that was required for a winning goal. Crosses on both ends failed to find their targets. The Hampden crowd balanced satisfaction with the performance with desire to triumphantly claim all three points.
But it was the visitors who found the best chance of the match just three minutes from full time. Gordon excellently stopped Bruno Fernandes’ effort from short range. With that narrow escape, the despairing feeling of the slim defeats had at last transformed into a sigh of Scottish relief as the whistle went and with it, a point at last added onto the Nations League table.
For Portugal, a positive performance and an intact undefeated record in the competition.
For Scotland, a glimmer of hope amongst a stretch of poor results in which many hope, at last, the tides will start to turn.
While there was no Ronaldo magic on this occasion, it was no doubt special for many both young and old to see another of the game’s greats grace the Glaswegian stage for the first – and perhaps only – time.
