Scotland 3-1 Greece: Steve Clarke hails Scotland character after comeback win

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke said the Scottish public should appreciate his players’ ‘never say die’ attitude after they fought back from a goal down to defeat Greece 3-1 in their World Cup qualifier.

Kostas Tsimikas had given Greece the lead in the second half at Hampden but Scotland replied immediately with a Ryan Christie equaliser.

Lewis Ferguson’s first Scotland goal put his side in front and the icing on the cake was Lyndon Dykes’ injury-time goal that ensured second place in Group C at the half-way mark.

Clarke was delighted to take a significant victory in difficult circumstances and to see his players get a reward for their second half efforts.

“Obviously it’s a big win for us,” the national team boss said. “We had a difficult first half but I thought we showed a great attitude to dig in.

“Sometimes people forget that football is over 96, 97, 98 minutes or whatever it is now. We had to dig in first half and they obviously created one big chance with the ball across the goal when the boy should probably get the contact at the back post. We got lucky on that one.

“The rest of the time was against a very good Greek side. We had to defend ever so well and we had to work ever so hard.

“I spoke about one or two things at half-time that, I’ve got to be honest, didn’t really seem to change the pattern of the game too much.

“But once the Greeks scored, it seemed to take the shackles off a little bit. We simply found an extra half yard of pace. The press was better and we looked more of a threat going forward. Obviously, scoring the equaliser pretty quickly after they had scored was very important for us.”

A grim first half had seen the players go up the tunnel to some booing but Clarke thinks the reaction to going a goal down is the perfect demonstration as to why the Tartan Army should love his squad.

“I’ve spoken always about the character and the attitude of this group that the Scottish public should love to have them because they never know when they’re beat,” he said. “They want to be remembered as a really successful group of players. Hopefully they’re on their own the way to do that too, to get to another tournament. But it’s three points.”

Now Clarke will turn his attention to facing a Belarus side that lost 6-0 to Denmark. He won’t take three points at Hampden for granted but said that all that matters is to chalk up another win and move closer to reaching World Cup 2026.

“We will have another game on Sunday,” he said. “We have to make sure we get three points there as well, so we’re stay focused on what we’re trying to get to.

“Results are the only thing that qualifies you for the four major tournaments. And I think that’s one of the things that this group of players understand. You have to get the points when the points are there to be taken. I thought when it went 1-1, they could smell a chance to win the game and they grabbed it with both hands.

“Yeah it’s true sometimes you don’t get what you deserve from football. And sometimes you get a little bit more than you deserve.

“But don’t underestimate the work they put into the first half. The last time the Greeks came here, they were a little bit slicker.

“You have to try and control the game in the bad moments. And that’s what we did tonight. And in the bad moments, we worked so hard to keep the game level or keep the game tight, and then we managed to get the goals that they got.”