Scotland 3-0 Cyprus: Scott McTominay's late double secures win in Euro 2024 Group A opener

John McGinn scored his 16th extremity for Scotland

Scott McTominay's precocious treble secured Scotland a comfy winning commencement to their Euro 2024 qualifying run astatine location to Cyprus.

Substitute McTominay eased accrued nervousness astir Hampden with a objective 87th-minute finish.

And the Manchester United midfielder added his 2nd moments later.

Steve Clarke had billed it arsenic a must-win crippled against Group A's lowest seeds, who ended the crippled with 10 men aft a precocious reddish paper for Nicholas Ioannou, and it was occupation done successful that sense.

But the Scotland caput manager volition cognize that, contempt their archetypal winning commencement to a Euro qualifying run since 2006, betterment volition beryllium needed arsenic apical seeds Spain sojourn connected Tuesday.

• Reaction & arsenic it happened

The dawn of caller qualifying run brought the Tartan Army to Hampden afloat of optimism.

They were rewarded with a ascendant first-half show during which they were seldom nether menace and probed astatine the Cypriot antiaircraft partition with consistency and determination.

All that was lacking was a small much cutting borderline successful the captious country - straight successful beforehand of goal. That was a taxable until precocious on, with the effect inactive uncertain until McTominay stepped up.

Scotland's intent was clear. Get astatine Cyprus down the flanks, peculiarly the left. That signifier was reasonably consistent, but the archetypal existent menace came down the different broadside erstwhile Aaron Hickey danced into the container and, from the tightest of angles, forced goalkeeper Demetris Demetriou into a debased prevention astatine his post.

Clarke's broadside were cruising, comfy connected the shot and showing an awesome level of composure.

The near flank proved the way to the important opening extremity arsenic Stuart Armstrong fed Andy Robertson, who timed his tally perfectly to enactment marginally onside and transverse archetypal time. The shot deflected perfectly into McGinn's way arsenic helium instinctively raced to conscionable it and decorativeness from adjacent scope to instrumentality his Scotland tally to 1 much than the talismanic James McFadden.

Che Adams came adjacent aft ace interplay with McGinn, but his changeable was tipped implicit and the unfortunate striker near the tract aboriginal successful the 2nd fractional with a worrying looking injury.

The 2nd fractional amusement dipped importantly and the creeping uncertainty began to look that Cyprus mightiness conscionable nick something.

Finally, though, Scotland got determination - acknowledgment to 3 of their ain substitutes. Ryan Christie did superbly to triumph possession and occurrence successful a transverse ,Lyndon Dykes nodded it connected and McTominay raced onto it to half-volley home.

An tremendous cheer and accompanying suspiration of alleviation engulfed Hampden earlier McTominay capitalised again erstwhile Robertson laid the shot into his way and helium calmly dispatched it location with ease.

More to follow.