This autumn it will be 20 years since Rab Douglas, optimism petrifying into weariness at each successive trudge, retrieved six Dutch balls from the back of Scotland’s net.
In the decades since, such has been the triumvirate’s dominance of the landscape, rarely has it been guarded by anyone other than Craig Gordon, David Marshall or Allan McGregor.
Indeed, in 110 competitive fixtures since Douglas’ dam burst, on only three occasions had any other goalkeeper played the full 90 minutes – two of them, against San Marino, returning undirtied gloves.
35 years of Jon McLaughlin
Such has been Scotland’s reliance upon an expiring generation that the youngest capped keeper to play even a minute of competitive club football this season was Jon McLaughlin: all 35 years of him.
A reset at the position has long been on the cards. So given the lengthy signposting of this day, the fact that heirs presumptive Zander Clark and Liam Kelly had sat on the bench 25 times between them without ever being entrusted to enter the field essentially advertised the plans the SFA had afoot.
Angus Gunn’s career
The acquisition of Angus Gunn, Scotland credentials shouting from the back of his jersey, will have been a long-time succession planning objective: one in which his erstwhile sanguinity indicates Steve Clarke had increasing confidence.
He will have been secretly pleased that Gunn’s career did not rocket to the heights it could have when he left Manchester City’s academy for an eight-figure fee, for had it done so he would long since have been scored off Scotland’s watchlist.
Gunn will face far sterner tests in Scotland colours – and soon – but from Clarke’s perspective this may have been the most important match of his new keeper’s international career. The one which locks him into the Scotland camp, and potentially settles the position for another decade to come.
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