COMMENT: Cool Gilmour brings calm for Scotland amid the Cologne chaos
- Billy Gilmour was restored to the starting XI by Steve Clarke against Switzerland
- The Brighton midfielder played a pivotal role in Scotland's goal in the first half
- Scots kept alive their hopes of progress to knockout round with a battling draw
Irrespective of the opponent or the occasion, there’s an unshakable principle in football that’s stood the test of time.
No team has ever lost a goal when they’ve had ownership of the football. If your players do their utmost to look after it, you’ve always got a puncher’s chance.
That’s what made Billy Gilmour’s exclusion in Munich on Friday all the harder to fathom.
While plainly one player was never going to change the outcome of an embarrassingly one-sided affair, it might just have stemmed the flow.
No one in Steve Clarke’s squad has the same level of sangfroid in possession as the Brighton man. No one makes a difficult pass look so straightforward. Scotland were taken to the cleaners by Germany without even playing their strongest hand.
Last night in Cologne felt like history repeating itself. Three years ago, Gilmour (right) was a spectator on the bench as Scotland’s return to this stage ended in a meek defeat to the Czech Republic at Hampden.
Billy Gilmour was back in Steve Clarke's Scotland line-up after being on the bench for Germany
Gilmour's composure on the ball had been badly missed in that opening defeat in Munich
The Scots needed a result and Gilmour was key as they fought their way to a 1-1 draw
Thrust into the limelight for game two at Wembley, he delivered a virtuoso performance only for a positive Covid test to rule him out of the defeat to Croatia.
He got 23 minutes in Munich on Friday, but it was a case of too little, too late. On a night filled with regret, his peripheral role made you question the extent of the manager’s faith in him.
Gilmour’s selection from the start here was a popular choice, but only because of what most felt he could bring to the table. His participation from the off also allowed Scott McTominay to play in the advanced position where he’d been so effective in qualifying.
Few observers would have been minded to argue with Clarke’s modified team selection. But without the right mindset and game plan, the composition of the side would only be so important.
Even before a ball was kicked, it just felt markedly different. The national anthem was sung with gusto and preceded a barnstorming start.
It took only two minutes to win a corner. That was one more than we managed in the entirety of Friday. Like the old Edinburgh buses, another duly came along.
Scotland were on the front foot. They were making tackles, completing passes and forcing errors. Everyone seemed to know their job. It was a massive improvement.
How Gilmour relished the task; Demanding possession in tight areas, laying it off, instigating attacks one minute and putting out fires the next.
The trust his team-mates had in him was evident. Every time he took the ball, he checked in the wing mirrors for danger and bumped it off. His presence just gave the side more assurance.
He played a pivotal part in the opening goal, the ball controlled and moved onto Andy Robertson in a flash.
The captain played in Callum McGregor. His cut-back for McTominay wasn’t perfect but the Manchester United man’s strike forced Fabian Schar to stretch out a leg and deflect the ball beyond Yann Sommer. Scotland were in dreamland.
By some distance, the first half of the first period belonged to Clarke’s men, only for a horrific aberrational moment to take the wind from the sails.
Anthony Ralston must have been the only man in the stadium who didn’t see Xherdan Shaqiri lurking with murderous intent. His careless back-pass was dispatched beyond Angus Gunn with a quite brilliant finish, the latest of a litany of defensive mistakes to afflict this side.
Clarke’s men got to the break level, but they never quite recaptured the rhythm of that opening spell when they re-emerged.
Even Gilmour became guilty of slackness. Only Gunn’s fingertips prevented Dan Ndoye turning the game on its head. The sight of Kieran Tierney leaving the scene on a stretcher added to the growing mood of concern.
When Grant Hanley’s header came back off the inside of the post, you feared Lady Luck had also turned her back on Clarke’s side.
How the Scots battled in the minutes that remained, though. They worked like dervishes to deny their opponents time and space. When they got the ball back, they reminded us how they can play. It wasn’t perfect at times, but they earned a precious point the hard way.
Eleven days after alighting at their training base in Bavaria, this felt like the moment when they belatedly arrived at the tournament. Pride was restored after the great fall.
With Gilmour on board, Clarke got his team and the approach right. All roads now lead to Stuttgart on Sunday where pointless Hungary lie in wait. It could be a seminal moment in the history of the national team.
