Lyndon Dykes sat frustrated on the bench, surveying what might be the final knockings of a very difficult campaign, itching to join the action and make an impact.
With Scotland a man up after the sending off of Petar Sucic, it seemed an unlikely win over Croatia was within grasp. And yet, while Steve Clarke’s men pushed forward, a decisive moment of quality was proving elusive.
With 23 minutes left on the clock, the big striker would enter the fray alongside John McGinn and Ryan Gauld. It was the injection of attacking quality the team was looking for.
The screw was turned and with four minutes left the dam finally burst. It was McGinn who grabbed the only goal of the game after a penetrating run by the outstanding youngster Ben Doak down the right flank left Croatia vulnerable.
It means Scotland’s first foray into the top flight of the Nation’s League could be extended into a quarter-final spot if a series of, admittedly unlikely, results go for them in the final game of the group. And that’s not a bad return for a team that had registered only one win in 16 games.
For Dykes, it’s been a challenging period, but there was a feeling within the camp that improved performances would eventually lead to results.
“It was a tough game,” he admitted. “Obviously, the red card changed it. We were trying to score a goal as much as we could. It was just an amazing feeling to see it hit the back of the net. Obviously, myself, John and Ryan coming on together wanted to win the game for the boys and John, as he’s always done for Scotland, produced an amazing goal for everyone.
“The triple change obviously worked, just freshening the legs up. We wanted to come on and prove ourselves. We want to be playing as well and help out the boys as much as we can. Obviously, it was great for John to get the goal. I’m really happy for him.
“I feel like this campaign has been difficult and frustrating. Tonight, we had a bit of luck and we had a bit of quality as well with the finish. It was a long time coming, but I’m glad it came tonight.
“It felt as if he’s been building towards this victory. I think our performances have been good. Even when we played Croatia last time away, we probably had a better performance, but we didn’t come away with any points.
“Tonight, it was just a relief, obviously, to get that win. It’s been a long time coming and everyone sees the results and they say a lot of things, but we’ve been believing. We just need that little bit of luck. It wasn’t our best performance tonight, but we got the win and that’s the main thing.”
Scotland may have had belief in the camp but there was precious little in previous results to explain why. They arrived at Hampden with one win over Gibraltar from their last 16 games while two of three performances at Euro 2024 were desperate, turning up the heat significantly on Steve Clarke. And while the manager may have been loosening his collar, according to Dykes this wasn’t felt by the players.
“To be honest, we never really spoke about it,” he shrugged. “I couldn’t even have told you how many games it was if someone asked me. Obviously, we want to win games because we’ve been on such an amazing few campaigns and it’s been a little bit rocky this one.
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“We’re in the top group now playing against good teams. Sometimes you have to play ugly. You have to not play your best football but come away with a win. That was tonight. I think we did play well in some bits and we didn’t play well in others, but we came away with three points and that’s what we need to do.
“I think playing against quality opposition consistently is helping the boys and helping the team in general. We’ve got boys coming in. Tommy Conway starts tonight, a great player. You can see in training that he’s a tidy player. Ben Doak is another example, and playing against this opposition is going to build us. Hopefully, when the World Cup qualifiers come up, we’re ready for that and we can perform at higher levels all of the time.”
Doak certainly deserves his mention. The winger tortured £77m full-back Josko Gvardiol of Manchester City throughout an electric Hampden performance and won man of the match on the night. At just 18 years old, he has the potential to be the attacking fulcrum Scotland has long desired.
“His pace is scary,” said Dykes. “He’s a good lad. He’s at Middlesbrough at the moment, getting a bit of game time away from Liverpool, but he’s performing week in, week out.
“The experienced boys here have got him under their arm and he’s learning every day at training and he’s working really hard. I’m sure he’s going to have a great Scotland career and a club career as well, so I wish him all the best.”
While Doak is thriving in his first prolonged exposure to top-level football, Dykes hasn’t had the easiest of spells. He was forced out of the Euros ahead of the tournament with a freak training injury and has been struggling at new club Birmingham where he’s yet to score in League One. And while there are hurdles to overcome, the upbeat striker doesn’t give you the impression he lets much seep under his skin.
“It’s been tough for myself since being injured from the Euros. This season’s been very up and down for myself, but I’m fighting. I’m a fighter as a person and I’ll get there in the end.
“I’m feeling good. I’m feeling fit. I’ve scored a couple of goals this season with not many minutes. I’m happy to come away to Scotland. I feel like this is my team, my family. I always give my all for the boys out there and for the whole nation. It’s coming. A hat trick on Monday would be nice.
“Sometimes it feels like people have been doubting you all year. My story’s probably different to a lot of other people. I had to fight a little bit of luck on the way. I started at Queen of the South and I worked my way up. People say what they want, but I know what I bring to teams. Sometimes it’s not always goals, but I help the team in general and I think I help the boys around me as well. I always give my all and that’s all I can do. You’re always going to have ups and downs in your career, but you’ve just got to keep going and keep smiling.”
Scotland travel to Portugal knowing that a win will see them avoid relegation at the very least. While the outcome of each result will hinge on events in Poland, Dykes explains the squad are keen to keep the up the momentum going into the crucial World Cup qualifiers.
‘It’s one last push,” he said. “We want to go there and win and we have to carry this on tonight from the performance. But more the points on the board and the result. We need to make sure we go there and get the result we want because we’ve got the points now, so we need to make sure we roll on with another one.”
