Slovenia 0 – 3 Scotland

The last time Scotland played a so-called meaningless fixture to end an qualification group campaign we were treated to Slovenia 0, Scotland 3. 

The score-line wasn’t in any way
flattering. Walter Smith’s side took an early lead and never looked back, scoring three cracking goals in the process. Darren Fletcher gave them the lead with a long range,
fourth minute strike.

The uncharacteristic swagger that we saw from The Tartan Army throughout the 2008 European Championships qualifying campaign can be traced back to this surreal night in Celji. The victory ensured that Scotland would not drop out of the fourth pot for the forthcoming European Championships draw and gave everybody fresh hope that this team could actually perform.

That’s because it wasn’t just a beating on the scoreboard, Scotland were superior to the stunned hosts in almost every way and should have doubled the lead through James McFadden before half-time. The striker somehow skewed his shot wide when through on goal.

The following campaign was to be the young attacker’s coming out party and he made up for the earlier miss with a cracking finish.

As strange as it sounds now, there was a brief period when it wasn’t inconceivable that McFadden could go on to become Scotland’s all-time record goalscorer. He was one of the first names on the team-sheet and looked centre to be striker of the future until injuries curtailed his career.

The cherry on the cake was added by Paul
Hartley with one of the best, and most un-Scottish goals, you are
likely to see. The finish is brilliant enough itself, but what that .GIF doesn’t capture is the move proceeding Hartley’s goal. It was fluid, one-touch, counter-attacking football that could scarcely have contrasted more with the dire offerings our proud nation was subjected to during the Bertie Vogts years.

Of course, Hartley’s finish was just sublime.

In our next competitive match we put six past the Faroe Islands and began the incredibly journey that came so close to seeing us qualify for the European Championships ahead of Italy and France.  What could lie ahead if we produce a performance of similar confidence against Croatia tonight.

If you’ve enjoyed the blogs then be sure to check out the podcast.  The latest episode was called Oh Aye, The Scotland Game!