NO WRITING ON THE BALL

Seville sore one may be norm but Scots' fate is not

- DAVID McCARTHY

SAME old story but it won’t be the same old ending. 

Not this time. Not with this Scotland team

who may have added another chapter of misery to a long list on Spanish soil but will surely be celebrating a place at the Euros before too long.

Steve Clarke’s side frustrated the life out of Spain and were 17 minutes from qualification before becoming yet another hard-luck tale in this city, which has treated the national team and our clubs so cruelly, so often in the past.

For about a minute, just on the hour, it looked like being different this time.

Scott McTominay’s free-kick ripped into the roof of the net but as 6000 Tartan Army conscripts celebrated, VAR intervened. Last night’s shot at glory had come and gone.

On Sunday, though, the Spanish could send us to Germany by beating Norway.

Even a draw is enough. And if not, Clarke’s men will

surely finish the job themselves in Georgia next month.

There was no shame in losing, just a feeling that these players were nearly there.

They will be soon enough. Estadio la Cartuja, where

this drama played out, has been a graveyard for Scottish hopes over the years.

It doesn’t look like much from the outside, to be honest. In a city of absolute beauty, this hulking concrete shell looks out of place.