Steve Clarke hailed an ‘outstanding’ defensive effort from Scotland as they kicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a hard-fought point against Denmark in Copenhagen.
The visitors held firm at the Parken Stadium against a much-fancied Danish side who came into the section as top seeds.
And Clarke’s men ended up as much the happier of the two teams, having probably edged the contest over the 90 minutes.
They now play Belarus behind closed doors in neutral Hungary on Monday, with Clarke urging his players to build on last night’s result and not get carried away despite shutting out the Danes.
‘It’s a good start for us,’ said the Scotland manager. ‘It was a very disciplined performance, which we knew it had to be. We certainly created enough going forward as well, which was good to see.
‘We defended well. John Souttar and Grant Hanley at the back were outstanding, but you could go through the whole team. Even when the subs came off the bench, they all did their bit and contributed.
Steve Clarke applauds his players after they picked up a wonderful point in Copenhagen
John McGinn holds the Danes at bay on the way to a highly creditable 0-0 draw
The Scotland players look delighted with their night’s work in Parken Stadium
‘It was a good night for us, but it’s only one point. We have to keep our feet on the ground. We know we’ve got another difficult game on Monday. We need to be ready for that.’
Elsewhere in the section, Greece thrashed Belarus 5-1 and it already looks like they will be the team to catch in the race to qualify for next summer’s tournament.
The winners of the four-nation group will qualify automatically, with the team who finish second securing a play-off berth.
After getting the campaign up and running, Clarke was pleased with the impact of some Scots who haven’t played a huge amount of football at club level.
‘Aaron Hickey has had a really tough time with injuries and he showed the qualities he’s got,’ he added. ‘Being able to pick him again is an absolute pleasure.
‘I always had in my mind that I’d need to make changes across the two games. We had a few guys in the team tonight who haven’t had a lot of minutes for the clubs at the start of the season.
‘But I know what I’ve got in that squad. They put in a hell of a shift and they are hungry to reach the World Cup. We just go game to game, pick up as many points as we can, and tally it up at the end.’
Scotland survived a scare in the second half when substitute Max Johnston was almost immediately cautioned for a handball by German referee Daniel Siebert for a handball when last man.
The Tartan Army feared Max Johnston was going to be red carded for a handball when last man
Thankfully German referee Daniel Siebert stuck with his original award of a yellow card after being asked to look at the incident again on the monitor
Steve Clarke congratulates Angus Gunn after he kept a clean sheet against the Danes
The official was asked to look at his monitor but took no further action, much to the relief of the Scots.
Midfielder John McGinn said: ‘Fair play to the ref, if they are told to go to the screen most refs bottle it and give the red card, but I think it was sensible for a yellow.’
McGinn expressed his pride in the performance and insisted it was much more akin to what is expected of Scotland under Clarke.
‘In the first 15 minutes, we suffered a lot,’ he said. ‘The effort from everyone was superb and we managed to keep a clean sheet which is brilliant.
‘It’s very easy to criticise guys like Grant Hanley – (but) he heads everything, clears everything. As a unit, the back four were outstanding.
‘Towards the end, it was about staying in the game. We’re managing games better the past couple of years. I thought we looked much more like a Steve Clarke team.’
Striker Lyndon Dykes had a great opportunity to open the scoring in the second half but appeared to dither over his shot and the chance was gone.
‘I should have maybe hit it first time on my right foot,’ he admitted. ‘I’m a little bit disappointed with that. On another night, I score that.
Scott McTominay shows former Motherwell player Mika Biereth a clean pair of heels
Lyndon Dykes is at full stretch as he tries to beat the Danish defence to the ball
‘It was a difficult night. We showed character and it was a lot of defending, but we had chances as well.
‘A win on Monday would put us in a good place. It’s not going to be easy, though, and we need to make sure we turn up like we did tonight.’
Denmark looked laboured and unimpressive over the 90 minutes. Scotland keeper Angus Gunn made a few saves but it was hardly the onslaught many had expected from the home side.
‘We are always disappointed not to win,’ said Denmark and Celtic keeper Kasper Schmeichel. ‘Scotland played well, they defended well. It was probably a fair result in the end.
‘Scotland are a good team. We were in no doubt this would be a tough game. They maybe underestimate themselves.
‘Scotland were looking for breakaways and set-pieces. We were comfortable at the back so, on reflection it was probably a fair result.’
