Scotland Try Hard, But Can't Quite Hand Iceland a Point

Scotland have come away from Iceland with a precious victory, but it wasn't for the want of trying.

There was plenty of pressure on George Burley and his men to get the win that Scotland badly needed tonight, and it was a huge relief to see them run out 2-1 winners in Reykjavik.

Burley made three changes to the side that lost in Skopje 1-0 to Macedonia with Graeme Alexander and Kenny Miller missing out after recovering from Saturday's knocks and Paul Hartley was dropped.

Kirk Broadfoot and Kris Commons came in for their first starts—with Shaun Maloney adding the attacking bite missing on Saturday.

As we gathered in the pub, we couldn't help but feel nervous.

This was it, win or bust. My proud South African homecoming was on the line.

In Scottish football history, I'm sure you don't need reminding of the usually less than fairytale ending.

Luckily for us beer-guzzling Scots, we got the start that we should have managed in Skopje by scoring early on.

Good play by Kirk Broadfoot down the right resulted in a Scottish corner that was duly turned in by that man Broadfoot, with a brilliant glancing header.

I must admit we didn't know whether to laugh or cheer as the lanky defender spun away in celebration. The Rangers defender is the "butt" of many jokes for his style on the pitch, and is even ridiculed by many Rangers fans.

So for the big lad to score on his debut, after having just listened to 18 minutes of "he's not a footballer's arse", during which he'd already got himself booked, brought about much hilarity.

It was just what we all needed and we relaxed into the comfort zone of a 1-0 lead.

James McFadden was denied a stone wall penalty against Macedonia on Saturday but tonight he had a bit more luck. The Birmingham City forward brought the ball down well in the box before being what would best be described as uprooted!

The most shocking thing about the tackle was that the Icelanders actually complained about it.

McFadden picked himself up to miss the penalty, but luckily it rebounded off the keeper back into the path of three Scotland players who'd clearly learnt their "following up" lesson from Skopje.

Barry Robson and James McFadden fought tooth and nail to get the finishing touch, with both ball and Robson ending up nestled in the net. The goal was eventually credited to McFadden, but it was definitely a team effort.

So, 2-0 up and home and dry.

Erm, well no, we are Scotland after all.

Just as I turned to my mate Mark to tell him that this was one hell of a crap game and  I couldn't believe there was still 15 minutes to go, Iceland had a penalty.

Oh and Scotland were down to 10 men!

Well I did ask for it.

A long cross into the back post had Scotland captain Alan McManus scrambling to get the clearing header.

Sadly, the big defender had his arms in the air and slapped the ball behind. It was clear as day. McManus claimed he was pushed and he may well have been, but that is part of the game.

Simply put, he shouldn't have had his hands anywhere near the ball.

Eidor Gudjohnsen of Barcelona converted the spot kick, to make the last 10 minutes a nightmare.

Thankfully, Scotland held on for the vital three points and the road to South Africa is looking just a little clearer.

Well done to George Burley for making the changes. A couple of bold decisions (Broadfoot and Commons) at a time when he knew a mistake could cost him his job.

It's been a difficult week for Scotland, but we've taken three points from two away games and that can't be sniffed at I suppose. Things are looking up.

All our home games are in front of us, and we have a new national hero:

Mr. Kirk Broadfoot.