Scotland manager Steve Clarke was pleased his side weathered a difficult night to secure a 2-1 victory over Czech Republic in last night’s Nations League match in Olomouc.
The Czechs, who had only two previously capped players, took an early lead through Jakub Pesek, however, Lyndon Dykes levelled with his first international goal midway through the first half.
Ryan Christie’s second half penalty proved decisive, although Steve Clarke’s men had to weather late pressure from the hosts to secure the result that puts them top of their section after two games.
With the weight of expectation firmly on his side, Clarke felt his players showed strong character to triumph.
Clarke said: “It was always going to be difficult because all the pressure and expectation was on us.
“We were told that the win was a must-scenario, but that’s what we did. But I have to pay the coach and players of the Czech Republic a big compliment. It would have been a fairytale night for them, but we were also on a hiding to nothing.
“We will probably get a bit of criticism for the performance, but we can work on that. The three points were important for us. That’s five games unbeaten as we go into October, so there are positives there.”
Scotland captain Andy Robertson insists getting the result was all that mattered given the uncertain build-up.
The Czechs had initially announced they would not play the fixture on Friday night only for Uefa to insist the match went ahead, prompting the hosts to name an entirely new squad for Scotland’s visit.
Robertson, who won the penalty for Christie’s winner, said: “We probably were on a hiding to nothing – that’s part and parcel of it.
“It was far from ideal for them but it wasn’t ideal for us either. On Friday we were coming out of a game thinking it was cancelled and were we going home.
“On Saturday it was all uncertain and then on Sunday we had to focus on the game.
“I think we did that but it has been an uncertain weekend for us. It has not been ideal at all.
“We have dealt with the cards we’ve been given. We were probably on a hiding to nothing, people would have found negatives in whatever we did.
“I’m not really bothered as long as we got the three points and we’re top of the group. That’s five unbeaten now, so let’s take some positives.”
