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Luke Shanley: My Scotland Euro play-off diary

Scotland qualified for Euro 2020 after a play-off penalty shootout victory over Serbia. It will be their first major tournament since France '98 and Sky Sports News Scotland reporter Luke Shanley cannot wait...

LUKE SHANLEY

Some things you never thought you would see, let alone be able to be in amongst it during a global pandemic.

For me, as trackside reporter for Sky Sports covering the Scotland national team and being a fully paid-up member of the Scotland Supporters Club, reporting on my country qualifying for their first major tournament in 22 years was a labour of love.

With everything during these uncertain times, travelling across Europe can be tricky, but everyone at Sky Sports worked so hard to make sure plans were in place for my camera operator Simon and I to be as safe as possible in Serbia.

The week started in a surreal fashion, after my flight to London City was cancelled, I was booked on an early flight to Amsterdam to catch a connection to Belgrade.

As I stood in the check-in queue at Glasgow airport at 4am, I could see Celtic's Nir Bitton and Hatem Elhamed in front of me with Mohamed Elyounoussi and Kristoffer Ajer behind me. Just hours earlier, I was covering their game at Motherwell and interviewed Elyounoussi on his man-of-the-match performance. The four were on their way to play in a friendly between Norway and Israel, although that was eventually cancelled.

Recently I joked with Elyounoussi about his near-weekly appearances at media conferences but this is due to his impressive performances and willingness to engage in press duties, something that was not lost on either of us as we boarded the plane and he joked 'here we go again'.

Scotland celebrate their victory over Serbia which secured their place at the Euros
Image: The Scotland squad celebrate their victory over Serbia which secured their place at the Euros

Arriving in Belgrade on Monday afternoon, any sense of excitement I had was quickly dashed when my bag did not arrive and despite being told it would turn up the following day, I realised this was merely a ploy to placate me as the next flight in from Amsterdam was not due until Thursday, matchday. The mind games had started already.

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Luckily for me, I travel with a suit bag that contains additional necessities if such an incident should occur. Always listen to your mother folks, she knows best and so it was proved. I am glad I took her advice.

With help from the Serbian FA and UEFA, I was able to secure interviews with two of the main men for the hosts, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Tadic. The Serbian training ground was 40 minutes outside of Belgrade. Our taxi driver was not a football fan, but a proud Serb and proceeded to discuss the current pandemic and lecture us on the pros and cons of former Communist leader of Yugoslavia, Josef Tito.

By the time I sat down with Mitrovic, I was glad football was the topic of conversation. Something I brought up was Ademola Lookman's penalty miss for Fulham against West Ham. I was interested to know if Mitrovic was back on penalties for his club. There is an irony regarding this line of questioning given what happened and looking back now, his penalty turned out to be the crucial factor in the match. Mitrovic and Tadic were both engaging and willing to give up more time than I was entitled to. Both certainly played the game, talking up Scotland as a team and a danger to their chances of qualification. Had they qualified, they would have been playing at Hampden Park against Czech Republic and neighbours and rivals Croatia. Neither wanted to be drawn on that and wanted to give Scotland the respect they deserved, maybe more so than they did when they beat Norway in the semi-final, going by previous quotes.

Next followed a visit to one of Belgrade's big shopping malls given my lack of clothing. Not the best place to visit during a pandemic despite the use of masks by patrons and hand sanitiser stations being placed around the centre.

With my retail therapy and clothing sorted, it was time to get my game head on again. The St. Sava Temple in Belgrade is a stunning piece of architecture and was a great place to get some city shots and interview a Scot based in the Serbian capital. Lewis MacDonald works locally and planned on watching the game in his local in mixed Scottish and Serbian company.

I got my first look at the stadium on Wednesday evening ahead of Sky Sports News' preview show. The Rajko Mitic stadium had been partially renovated in 2017 but with the big running track around the pitch, it still had the feel of an old-fashioned ground. The logistics of the stadium were not ideal either, especially for Simon given the amount of equipment he had with him. A massive steep staircase had to be negotiated to get pitchside, something that could have been used in the filming of Battleship Potemkin or The Untouchables.

Usually on matchday for an away international, you are running around the city, speaking to the Tartan Army at various town squares and bars to build-up the match. This was different. Instead, I was standing in the Sky Lounge in our hotel with good views of Belgrade talking up Scotland's chances.

The stadium was just a 10-minute drive from the hotel, but our taxi driver decided to take us in the opposite direction then double back on himself 10 minutes later before heading to the stadium. This riled me but it gave me a chance to channel my nerves. More frustration would come in the way of stewards at the stadium not allowing us inside to do our live inserts to Sky Sports News. Once access was sorted, I really started to feel it, such a massive occasion for the Scottish national team. The hosts were testing the scoreboard in the stadium when we arrived, and it was showing 'Serbia 4-0 Scotland'. I just nodded and thought, we'll see. Maybe this was a sign of overconfidence, maybe Serbia did not rate Scotland or Scottish football.

While the stewards inside still tried to get in our way, I did manage to grab a couple of minutes with Steve Clarke ahead of the game for his pre-match interview. Steve gives little away and is very composed in such situations, although he did sum up the magnitude of the match and there was a hint of excitement.

As I took my seat in the press box high in the main stand, which felt a mile away from the interview position, you did wonder what it would be like with a packed crowd in the stadium. The Marakana, as it is known locally, is famous for its fierce atmosphere, especially when Red Star Belgrade take on city rivals Partizan Belgrade.

Steve Clarke has been a source of support for Scotland Women's coach Shelley Kerr
Image: Steve Clarke became the first Scotland coach since Craig Brown to lead the nation into a major tournament

With the rain pouring down, it was like a home from home, Scotland seemed assured and in control in the first half. Speaking to my four other press colleagues who made the journey from Scotland, we were of the consensus that we would never get a better chance. The Serbians were off the pace. Despite captain Andrew Robertson missing a good chance early in the second half, Ryan Christie scored a minute later. Fair to say our professionalism in the media tribune was called into question as the five of us jumped up and cheered. This was it, our big chance.

With 81 minutes on the clock, I made my way back down trackside via the steep stairway, it took me four minutes to get into position as history beckoned. I was thinking about my questions, how to get the tone right and what this meant to end a 22-year wait to qualify for a major tournament. As the clock hit 90 minutes, Luka Jovic headed in the equaliser. I had a great view from behind the goal. It felt like a punch in the gut. Being Scottish, being a journalist and a follower of the national team, it was a movie we have all been in before, glorious failure and failure. Was this to be another way of failing to qualify for a major tournament?

Extra time was tough to watch. In the back of your mind, you are preparing for the potential of losing and the questions you need to ask. It was an awkward watch too as down trackside, luckily a monitor in the interview position allowed me to appreciate just how good a save David Marshall had made during that period.

Then penalties again, just like the semi-final. In the build-up, I had mentioned Antonin Panenka scored his famous spot-kick in a shootout to win Euro 76 inside this stadium for Czechoslovakia. Would anyone be brave enough or cocky enough to try the same?

The penalties were an awkward watch due to advertising boards covering the bottom of the goal. You had to really go on the reaction. Some were a close thing, but four perfect penalties. Then Kenny McLean steps up as number five again, just as he did against Israel. Wow, that was a great example of composure. So, to Aleksandar Mitrovic, looking for the glory at number five, he now had to score. The Scottish FA media personnel were standing socially distanced to my right, and as the Fulham striker struck his penalty, Marshall was the hero again, cue bedlam in an empty stadium. While Marshall waited for the referee to confirm everything was okay and his team-mates ran towards him, my Scottish FA colleagues were making their way to the pitch, I could only run and jump. I nearly slipped on the wet track next to a steeple chase pit, as I got closer to the pitch, I realised I had to about turn. I was screaming and when you hear the phrase 'he didn't know whether to laugh or cry' - that would be an accurate description of how I felt.

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Highlights of the European Championship Qualifying Path C play-off final between Serbia and Scotland.

Then your professional head switches on, Sky need reaction to a historic night for Scottish football. The hero of the hour David Marshall was reluctantly pulled into the interview position, I could not contain my joy proclaiming 'yes, get in, we're going to the tournament' as I started the interview. Marshall just wanted to get back to his team-mates on the pitch given there was no lap of honour to be undertaken, time was limited. Setting the tone and reading the situation is key in my job, and it was better to cut the interview and let him rejoin the rest of the Scottish heroes.

Next up was Ryan Christie. Just before he arrived, I had a tear in my eye as the magnitude of the achievement started to sink in but that was nothing like what was to come next. I could see the emotion in Christie's face. He knew exactly what he had just achieved. Having interviewed him as a promising youngster at Inverness and regularly at Celtic, you get to know what to expect in interviews, but this was something else. In an era where players are more concerned about image and their PR message, Christie was just himself. Emotional, overjoyed and thinking of others. He summed up not just what it meant to him and the team but also the whole country, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. As I got to my third and last question, I did not know if he would hold it together but he did and if anyone was in any doubt about how much players care about international football, the answer was there for everyone to see.

Of course, Steve Clarke was delighted but kept a lid on his emotions. You could still see his delight though. Thirteen months earlier, I interviewed him in Moscow after a 4-0 defeat to Russia and he said then the job was proving to be more difficult than he thought it would be. I was pleased for Steve. He turned around Kilmarnock's fortunes before taking the Scotland job and his calm manner was key on a night like this.

For me, there was no hitting the town, everything shuts at 11pm in Belgrade during the pandemic, so it was back to the hotel and the minibar was calling. Not being a big drinker, a bottle of beer or two was good enough for me. I just wanted to jump about; the adrenaline was still pumping. No conga lines or booging for me unfortunately.

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Ryan Christie was moved to tears after helping Scotland secure their place at Euro 2020 with a penalty shoot-out win against Serbia.

I could hardly sleep but it was an early start on Friday to get more reaction. Turning up at the Scotland hotel, only goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods was to be seen. Woods is someone who never seeks the spotlight but deserves a mention for the research and work he puts in for situations like penalty shootouts with the goalkeepers. It says a lot for him that he was delighted for me as he knows how big a Scotland fan I am. This was not my moment but his and the whole team.

Speaking to the likes of John McGinn and Scott McTominay on Sky Sports News, you appreciate how a generation of players and fans have no comprehension of what it is like to see Scotland at a major tournament. When McGinn, who has won trophies with St. Mirren and Hibernian and promotion with Aston Villa and McTominay has featured in big games with Manchester United, say that this is the best moment of their careers so far, you know Scotland are in a good place.

As the team headed for Slovakia, it was time for me to head home and begin two weeks of self-isolation, still with a massive smile on my face and just wanting to watch the key moments again and again.

I remember attending Scotland vs Netherlands at Euro 96 at Villa Park with my dad. It remains the only game in tournament football I have attended. Now, we all look forward to games against Czech Republic, England and Croatia in the delayed Euro 2020. As far as Belgrade goes and this match, it is definitely an 'I was there' moment and not many were.

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