The bad news continues for Steve Clarke and Scotland. Just when it looked like the damage done by a disastrous Euro 2024 and the first half of this game was being repaired, Poland snatched victory in the 97th minute, when a Grant Hanley charge led to a penalty, adding to the Scotland team's disappointment.
Up until that point, extending their winning streak to one win in 13 games hadn't seemed like much – Clarke's men were two goals down at half-time but rallied to equalise – and the biggest problem with what happened after was that it always looked like the easiest of Scotland's Nations League games.
Clarke insisted in his pre-match press conference that team evolution was far more feasible than revolution. Supporters infuriated by Scotland's performance in Germany called for a revolution in attitude, not personnel. The subdued atmosphere around kick-off here suggested the crowd in the stands was uneasy with Clarke's approach to a fresh start. The fans want new heroes, young heroes, and now. Most striking was Clarke's switch to a back four, given his usual preference for a back three.
The Scotland manager is still heavily handicapped in terms of available resources – this starting line-up included three Norwich players, and their attacking centre, Lyndon Dykes, has just moved to Birmingham in League One. Promotion to the top flight of the Nations League is always risky, as it means Scotland will be playing against much better teams.
What Clarke definitely didn't need was this damaging start, with Billy Gilmour's pocket being targeted by Katzper Urbanski and Kenny McLean's pass to Gilmour not being a particularly clever one, with Robert Lewandowski next to receive the ball.
Poland's iconic striker fed Sebastian Szymanski, whose low shot from 25 yards slid round Angus Gunn's left post and into the goal. Gunn may have felt he could have done better, but the Fenerbahce midfielder found himself too much space to shoot from. There was a collective sigh at Hampden, apart from the vocal Polish players.
It took 20 minutes for the home side to make an attacking impact, Scott McTominay firing a shot over the bar after receiving a pass from Ryan Christie. Scotland's biggest problem was losing possession, allowing Poland to move the ball quickly between their three areas.
McTominay thought he had scored an equaliser midway through the first half, but the shot was ruled out for handball. Napoli's McTominay beat the Polish defence to slot home a free kick from Andy Robertson, who became the seventh Scot to win 75 caps.
Scotland had actually shown some promise before the visitors doubled their lead. McTominay put his attackers in position but couldn't find them with his cut-back. Dykes was brilliantly found by Robertson at the back post and had a shot on goal that was cut out. The wastefulness would soon prove costly.
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Anthony Ralston, Scotland's best player to date, kicked the sole of full-back Nikola Zalewski's leg as he charged forward. Lewandowski, predictably, scored the rest of the way from 12 yards for his 84th international goal. It seemed especially unfair that Scotland should be two goals down, but that didn't seem to matter. The tale of misery continued. Boos rang out at the half-time whistle.
Scotland's much-needed hope came just 23 seconds into the second half. Poland mis-cleared a Dykes cross and Christie played the ball back into the path of Gilmour. The midfielder beat Marcin Bulka to score his second career goal. After a lengthy VAR check (for reasons that are never entirely clear), the counter was allowed to stand. Scotland had a pulse.
Przemyslaw Szymiński almost restored Poland's two-goal lead with a superb long-range curling shot that just missed Gunn's goalpost, before Clarke added the twist by introducing Ben Doak, Ryan Gauld and Lawrence Shankland.
The substitution paid immediate dividends. Doak played the ball to the rampaging Ralston, who in turn played it to McTominay. From just six yards out, the former Manchester United man equalised in style. Importantly, it proved morale intact in the Scotland team. It was broken when Hanley fouled Zalewski. The same player converted the penalty through Gunn. For Scotland, it was the latest in a long line of painful episodes.
