“The quickest I’d moved all night!” – McLean Recalls Scotland 4-2 Denmark

Kenny McLean etched his name into Scottish footballing folklore with a 98th-minute halfway line hit, ending the Tartan Army’s 28-year exile from the World Cup stage. Reflecting on that night at Mount Florida via the National Team’s social media, the midfielder described the experience as nothing short of ‘incredible.’ “Walking out here, I still try to picture the scenes that went on that night, and it’s something that will live forever for everybody. It was in this place, and now we’ve got something to look forward to” The Norwich City midfielder got the early call from the bench after Ben Gannon-Doak’s exit in the 21st minute. “I saw Doaky go down, I was looking around and telling lads to get warmed up who I thought would have come on on the wing, and at the time I didn’t consider Ryan [Christie] going there and me going inside. “I got the call, and didn’t have too much time to think about it.” The familiar sting of ‘glorious failure’ returned in the 81st minute. Patrick Dorgu’s clinical finish left Craig Gordon motionless, and the Tartan Army devastated, seemingly condemning Scotland to the playoffs “Maybe for a second it did cross our mind that we were going to come up short again, but we found it from somewhere. “This squad is something that I’ve never been involved in. I’m sure all the lads say the same thing about it, incredible.” McLean had the perfect view to watch Kieran Tierney restore the lead in the 93rd minute. “I’m right behind Kieran when he is taking the shot, it starts a yard outside the post, and as soon as I saw it turning in, I knew where it was landing.” With the final kick of the game, McLean hammered home his place in history, punching Scotland’s ticket to America in breathtaking fashion. “I was thinking (about going to) the corner initially, I think I had Che [Adams] on one side, Fergie [Lewis Ferguson] on the other, and I found myself in this very spot. “There was just a noise that seemed to come around the stadium, initial shouts of shoot were probably ignored, and then I took a touch out of my feet, but I wasn’t set to hit it. “The louder the shouts got, I thought the game’s probably done, if it goes into the keeper’s hand I’ll probably get some abuse, but when I saw the keeper going back the way, and I saw it dropping and hit the net, it was special!” Bedlam followed in all corners of the National Stadium, a special goal to cap off a special night. Brazil, Morocco, and Haiti await in Boston and Miami, and the Tartan Army will hope the side can deliver similar heroics on the world stage.