For an hour at Hampden, Lawrence Shankland was a peripheral figure, a support act for George Hirst – Scotland’s number nine – and diminished because of it.
Shankland ran everywhere apart from where he is most effective. He dropped deep and ran wide, he sacrificed himself so that Hirst could be the one leading the line.
He was in the margins of a nervy farewell to Hampden before the team heads for the United States on Sunday.
That would change, of course, And thank goodness. Shankland pushed on, took up more dangerous positions and, surprise, surprise, scored and then scored again. Two chances and two beautiful finishes.
Shankland is, by a margin, Steve Clarke’s most accomplished striker. Let’s hope the message lands.
No more Che Adams starting the big games. We’re firmly in the Shankland era now. He’s the one you’d want in a do-or-die moment in America, a chance to keep Scotland alive in the tournament.
When the new Rangers striker made it 2-1, then 3-1, a day of toil against the 10 men of Curacao – world ranking of 82 – turned into something altogether more palatable.
Up until those moments, Scotland were in mortal danger of being sent on their way with a collective shrug from the Tartan Army, a goodbye and good riddance message as they prepared for departure.
Eventually the loss of Jurgen Locadio, the hulking forward who walked in the 38th minute after an elbow on Aaron Hickey, told. That was the turning point.
Curacao were 1-0 ahead at the time and Scotland were struggling. The stadium was like a morgue. This is not how it was meant to be.
Locadio dynamited his team’s chances and prepared the ground for Scotland’s comeback. Nobody wanted that, not Curacao and not Clarke either.
