Steve Clarke won't let late penalty dampen Scotland's spirits

Poland scored a late penalty in Thursday's 1-1 draw at Hampden

Published 24th Mar 2022

Steve Clarke says he won't let Poland's late equaliser dampen Scotland's spirits after a 1-1 friendly draw at Hampden.

In a hastily-arranged friendly match after the Scots' 2022 World Cup play-off semi-final against Ukraine was postponed until June, there was little between the teams until the 68th minute when Kieran Tierney headed in a free-kick from captain John McGinn for his first international goal.

It looked like the Scots were headed for a seventh successive win until the third of three added minutes when Irish referee Robert Hennessy judged Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon had fouled Platek inside the box and the substitute slotted in his spot kick.

Steve Clarke's side will play Austria away next week in the second match of their friendly double header, with Wales waiting in the play-off final in Cardiff should the Scots eventually get past Ukraine.

Clarke said: “I’m pleased. I thought we were good after such a long break and I thought the players were more at it again.

“We had worked on the continuity and I thought the shape was good.

"The possession was good and we created chances, especially in the first half.

“We scored a good goal from a goal set-play.

“The continuity was one of the reasons I went with the starting 11 I did. It was close to the 11 who played against Denmark.

“They knew their jobs. We’ve been pretty consistent over the last year in the way we’ve played. We saw a lot of that again.”