Robertson bags last-gasp header as Scotland beat Poland
Following their morale-boosting victory against Croatia on Friday, Scotland couldn’t have asked for a better start as John McGinn once again was the man of the moment.
Inside four minutes, Ben Doak’s cutback to the edge of the box was met with a pinpoint finish from the Aston Villa captain, whose buried strike nestled in the bottom corner.
With this being a must-win for both sides, Poland seemed to struggle with the pressure, as the Scots soared through the first half.
As he was against Croatia, Doak was proving to be a menace down the right flank, but his teasing cross to Lyndon Dykes wasn’t capitalised upon by the Birmingham City striker.
Poland eventually grew into the game midway through the half, as Craig Gordon was called into action to save from Karol Świderski.
Doak and Dykes remained a threat for the visitors though, as this time the striker beat two defenders before flashing his shot inches wide.
The Scottish pressure was ramping up with HT approaching, with Billy Gilmour striking the woodwork with a long-range effort.
His Napoli teammate Scott McTominay also hit the post before the interval with a strike from the edge of the box as Scotland finished the half on top.
Michał Probierz’s men came out a rejuvenated outfit following the restart, as Jakub Kamiński’s effort beat Gordon, but John Souttar’s last-ditch block saved his goalkeeper.
The Polish continued to probe for an equaliser and it arrived right on the hour mark in emphatic fashion.
Steve Clarke’s men failed to clear their lines, and Kamil Piątkowski unleashed a thunderous effort from outside the box, rifling a shot into the top corner.
Dykes thought he restored Scotland’s lead minutes later but his header was brilliantly stopped by Łukasz Skorupski.
In the end, it looked like neither side would be able to find the second goal, and both Skorupski and Gordon were relatively untroubled in the final quarter-hour until the 93rd minute.
Deep into stoppage time, Andy Robertson popped up with the winner with a bullet header at the back post, giving Scotland a major boost following a disappointing UNL campaign, as Clarke’s men finish in third place and in the play-offs.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ben Doak (Scotland)
