A hollow victory

Looking back at Scotland v Holland at World Cup 78 in partnership with Nutmeg

Hello

It’s time for this month’s look back in time to a moment in Scottish football thanks to Nutmeg . As we stand on the brink of qualifying for the knockout stages for the first time I’m looking back to 1978’s infamous campaign. This is the first World Cup I can remember bits of. More than the Scotland games what stood out to me was being only seven stickers short of filling my Panini sticker album (I’d never even get remotely close again) and the streaming bog roll covering everything in the final. The world felt like a very big place to 8 year old me back then. There were only 16 teams in it, 10 of them from Europe. Amazingly, Scotland went into the tournament as 5th favourites with the bookies behind hosts Argentina, holders West Germany, beaten finalists from 1974 Holland and of course Brazil. Let that sink in for a second because it’s actually mind blowing. 5th favourites at a World Cup.

The reality was that Scotland were massively over hyped and woefully under prepared. An opening gubbing off Peru and a draw with Iran meant that we needed to beat Holland by three clear goals in our final group game in Mendoza. Ally McLeod was getting absolute pelters in the media thanks to his big mouth predictions pre tournament and his rather shitey team selections. Could the seemingly impossible happen?

You know if they had VAR 48 years ago Scotland could have been two up in the first half hour. A bollocks offside call and an imaginary foul by Kenny Dalglish put paid to that.

So instead we sat at 0-0 until we made a boob. Specifically Stuart Kennedy.

Rob Rensenbrink stepped up for the penalty.

Okay just four goals needed now. Right on the stroke of halftime King Kenny swept home the equaliser.

One down, three to go.

A couple of minutes into the second half and Graeme Souness is filleted by three Dutch defenders.

Penalty it is! Up steps the bald rocket Archie Gemmill with a lengthy run up.

What happened in the 69th minute is the stuff of legend and for that we visit the football wing of The Louvre.

Archie’s dribble and finish left us needing one more goal and 20 minutes to get it. The impossible had become the doable. There was just one wee problem. A collective that ensures that nobody is bigger than the game and that for the game of football to be beautiful it must also be cruel.

And so it was that the Football Gods allowed the Tartan Army to dream for three whole minutes before parting their defences and allowing Johnny Rep to absolutely blooter the ball into the net.

The dream was over. The hollowest of 3-2 wins.

And now, 48 years later, Scotland take on Brazil in Miami knowing that anything but an absolute pumping should see us through to the knockouts.

Much love in advance to the Football Gods.

Keith