For all he has a rather curmudgeonly reputation and is widely viewed as a manager reluctant to give youth its chance, there are signs that Steve Clarke may well be turning over a new leaf. And for Scotland, there are signs of green shoots from the barren wasteland that was the European Championships campaign because of it.
Clarke takes stick sometimes for sticking with the tried and trusted, the old guard who have served both him and the nation so well over the last few years.
There is gratitude to those players from the Tartan Army, but there is also a yearning for the leash to be removed from some of the exciting, upcoming talent that is bubbling away under the surface, particularly when some of those established players have been out of form at club level. If they have been playing at all.
The absence of Motherwell kid Lennon Miller, for example, was a point of much debate ahead of this one, but credit where it is due. The Scotland manager was always likely to stick with Ben Doak for this test, the great white hope of the Scottish game. But you would have got long odds on him opting for his Middlesbrough teammate Tommy Conway to spearhead his attack ahead of Lyndon Dykes.
With Che Adams absent through injury, and with five goals to his name this season versus the one apiece that Dykes and Lawrence Shankland have managed, the inclusion of the 22-year-old may have seemed like a no-brainer on the surface. But it was still something of a shock to see his name in the line-up, while even the likes of John McGinn had to settle for a place on the bench.
It may say something about the historic reluctance of Clarke and others to blood young players into the national side that a 22-year-old is considered a youngster at all here, but that’s another debate. On his first start, the Hampden crowd were eager to see what he could bring to the party.
For a kick-off, there was a bucketload of honest endeavour. Though, that is something of a pre-requisite in a role that Ally McCoist once called the loneliest in football, being a Scotland striker.
That was particularly the case in the early knockings of this contest, when the slick Croatians seized control of the ball and pinned the Scots into their area. The massed blue jerseys in front of Craig Gordon were glad of any respite that Conway could offer, and he chased their hopeful balls manfully, while holding the play up well as he waited for the cavalry when he did find his way onto the end of it.
The real relief in this period though, and the thing that sent a surge of excitement through the home crowd, was when the out ball found its way to Doak on the right.
Up against the brilliant Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol, he had a job on his hands alright, and he would have to produce something special to get any joy.
He did just that, conjuring a wonderfully impudent flick to get away from the full back and bring the Tartan Army to their feet, and setting up Scott McTominay to bring the first real save from Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski.
In truth though, the visitors were still looking the more likely as half time approached, only for a rush of blood to the head of Petar Sucic to suddenly make the Scots’ task a little bit easier, picking up a second yellow card for a daft foul on John Souttar.
The question then in the second half was whether Scotland could take advantage of the extra space Sucic’s absence afforded them, and whether they could spring Doak and Conway when they had the opportunity, particularly on the turnover.
The answer was almost, but not quite. Billy Gilmour fed Doak with the chance to square to Conway for a tap in, but the cross was mishit, and the opening was gone.
Gilmour then had a wonderful opportunity to play in Doak after the Croatian defence had presented the ball to him, but the Napoli midfielder of all people, normally a picture of composure, took the wrong option, and his shot cleared the ball high, wide and not remotely handsomely.
That was the sign for Clarke to turn to two of his most trusted men after all, with Dykes and McGinn joining Ryan Gauld as Conway took his leave after a more than decent display.
There were frights at their own end as the Scots pushed for the win that would give them an outside chance to finish second in this Nations League group, or at least preserve their status in the ‘A’ section, and groans at the other as Andy Robertson capped off a disappointing personal display with a couple of skewed crosses.
In the end, even against 10 men, it didn’t look as though it would be quite enough. There have been some good performances from Scotland in this campaign, and occasions where they justifiably could feel hard done by with their return of points. But in truth, that wasn’t really the case here.
But just as the Tartan Army were scratching once more for positives, which on this occasion could be mined from the promise of Conway, and in particular, the spark of Doak, one of the old guard showed they had life in them yet.
It was Doak though who was the creator, darting down the right and forcing the ball back to the edge of the area, where McGinn arrived – as he so often has throughout his Scotland career – to plant the ball into the top corner and give Scotland their first win in 11.
By the time the World Cup qualifiers roll around, Conway and Doak will be better for these experiences, and they – along with the old faithful performers like McGinn – are likely to be crucial to Scotland’s chances of making it back to the biggest stage in international football, for the first time since before either of them were born.
