Ronaldo’s frustration at being denied by a goalkeeper older than him, in the 41-year-old Craig Gordon, spilled over when Portugal were prevented from taking an injury-time corner, with referee Lawrence Visser blowing his full-time whistle as Bernando Silva and Bruno Fernandes jogged to the byline. As Ronaldo had been in Visser’s ear all night, the Belgian had presumably endured enough and wanted it over.
So there were cheers at last for Steve Clarke and his beleaguered side, even if many came at Ronaldo’s expense, the pantomime villain who thundered off the pitch in a tantrum without shaking hands or applauding the Portugal supporters in the corner. In many ways, that was mission accomplished for the hosts, who held on and avoided losing five consecutive games for the first time. Gordon was immense between the posts, as were Grant Hanley and John Souttar earning their clean sheet with brave displays in central defence. Even debutant Nicky Devlin, a late replacement, played his part with a brilliant block on Rafael Leao. “He got us the point with that block,” Clarke beamed.
The irony for Scotland, however, is they were poor for long spells, worse than they had been in their previous Nations League defeats to Poland, Portugal and Croatia. Clarke’s side were wasteful in possession while looking to play through the middle third and aimless in their attempts to hit long towards an isolated Che Adams. While their resilience and defensive organisation in denying one of the world’s top sides was commendable, especially given the circumstances, there was little evidence of a plan, or idea, to lift the gloom. It ‘s now just one win in 16 for the national team. Relegation from the top tier of the Nations League still beckons.
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