Scotland overcome downpour and Georgia for fourth straight Euro win

This was a Euro 2024 qualifier that fell 41 minutes short of requiring two days to complete after biblical rain caused a delay – six minutes into the game – of around an hour and a half, and a finishing time of 11.19pm.

On the final whistle Steve Clarke’s impressive Scotland had a fourth victory and 12 points and at the midpoint of Group C are already a near-shoo-in to reach next year’s finals in Germany.

What the manager is constructing is an expertly drilled unit burnished by the higher-end talents of Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay (who scored the second), and John McGinn, and which returned a far more complete triumph than the late-match mugging of Norway three days earlier.

To see Lyndon Dykes sprint back to cover a rare Georgia foray as full time neared was instructive of the side’s spirit, as he and his teammates closed proceedings out under the now cleared skies.

The downpour caused Istvan Vad to inspect the pitch but the Hungarian referee was content to play, to the sell-out crowd’s delight. They sang in the rain as Clarke’s men bid to make it four wins in a row, having already beaten Cyprus, Spain and Norway. Georgia had arrived with four points.

Vad may have been happy but the puddles being kicked up when the ball was addressed and a McTominay backheel sticking showed up the conditions and these were about to cause the game’s prolonged pause.

First, on six minutes, Scotland struck via a McGinn corner. The forward floated this over from the right, Dykes made a nuisance of himself, the ball went back and – after it slowed in the water – Callum McGregor smashed home.

Cue Vad running to the touchline, conversing with a Uefa official, then Robertson and the Scotland captain’s opposite number, Guram Kashia, and the