50 Up For Gordon

Craig Gordon was pleased to celebrate his 50th cap for Scotland with a clean sheet which helped secure an important three points from the win over Slovakia at Hampden last night.  An own-goal from former Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel in the 89th minute handed Scotland a priceless 1-0 win which keeps their World Cup dream alive. Scotland dominated the game throughout and hit the bar twice through striker Leigh Griffiths and Derby frontman Chris Martin, who came on as a substitute.  Scotland head to Slovenia knowing that picking up the three points on offer on Sunday will almost certainly send them into the play-offs for the finals in Russia.

Speaking after the game, Gordon said: "It’s huge for us and it keeps our hopes alive going into the last game to try and win that one. It was a great 50th cap and I couldn't have asked for much more - a clean sheet and a victory right at the end.  We felt the momentum was with us. We were creating chances and they were getting more tired. They had spent the game with 10 men so they were obviously going to tire towards the end, and that's when we started creating more chances and we managed to take one, albeit with a bit of luck.  We showed good fitness to keep going and make sure we were going right to the end to try and win and salvage something from the game. If we keep that spirit together then we have a very good chance going into the next game."

Gordon believes the showdown with Slovenia will be Scotland’s biggest game since they lost out to Italy 10 years ago for a place at EURO2008. He said: "It's got to be right up there, probably since the game here against Italy when we had the chance to do something similar.  It's another chance and hopefully this time we can take it. There are not going to be too many more chances like this. We have put ourselves in a great position now and we need to go now and try and finish the job."