THIS WAS 90 CHAOTIC MINUTES OF LIFE-AFFIRMING MADNESS

... but why do Scotland always make it so hard for themselves?

run down the right wing before putting a dangerous low cross into the area.

McTominay was brilliant after the break, too. It was fitting he should score the winner. He is so good on the ball, with such an engine, that you always wonder whether he is being wasted on the right of a back three when he is a much more effective midfielder for Manchester United.

These are all things to conjure with as the attempt to streamline the current Scotland team continues. Certainly, this win over Israel keeps momentum building. Too often a big night like a Belgrade or a Wembley is followed up by something disappointing. Well, we’ve built on last month’s triumph in Austria, somehow, with another big, big win.

Let’s just focus now on developing a pattern of playing, making games pan out on our terms. And cutting down on the daft stuff.

You do sense Clarke is still trying to get the mechanics right, figure out the best way to use the talent at his disposal and fine-tune what seems a workable 3-5-2 formation.

Okay, maybe the no-nonsense presence of Grant Hanley in defence would have been a preferred option, but this was about as strong a starting XI as he could have picked. What he does, then, about the standard of some of the defending is anyone’s guess.

Nathan Patterson gets caught out early doors and, before long, Jack Hendry has given away a silly foul on Eran Zahavi to concede the free-kick that led to the opener. A minute after McGinn has put us back on level terms, McTominay gives away another silly free-kick and almost everyone stands ball-watching as Munas Dabbur bundles the rebound home from the set-piece.

Even when we had got on top, the rearguard went to sleep again on the hour, allowing Zahavi a free header from point-blank range that Craig Gordon did well to save.

Former Hearts coach Austin MacPhee, now at Aston Villa, has been brought in to work on set-pieces. Some major work is required on defending them, on the basis of this game. In terms of making things happen, maybe we’ll learn on another evening why our centreforward Lyndon Dykes is taking long throws and McTominay, tall and aggressive, is occasionally taking corners.

Oh, yes, and tell big Lyndon to forget about the spot-kicks in future, too. He got away with that sclaff from the 12-yard mark which earned a crucial win in Austria. When Israeli keeper Ofir Marciano decided he wasn’t going to pick a side, though, the QPR man’s goose was cooked.

He made up for it, though, sticking out his boot and getting it to the ball ahead of Ofri Arad to make it 2-2. They all made up for it. We deserved to win. We deserve to be heading for the play-offs, barring any unforeseen accidents.

There’s a good team in there. Of that there is no doubt. It just needs more concentration, more confidence and a commitment to letting these most talented players be free and express themselves. Here’s to next time. And a victory that doesn’t leave you needing a lie down in a dark room afterwards.