Craig Gordon wants to become Scotland ’s oldest international when the Nations League countdown concludes after turning back the clock again to reach the top table.
The 39-year-old keeper threw up the shutters in Krakow to deny Ukraine on Wednesday, a full-length one-handed save to stop Mykhaylo Mudryk shortly after the break the stand-out in a string of superb saves. It was just the latest show-stopping performance from the Hearts skipper, who is enjoying a fairytale twilight period in his stellar career. Back-to-back clean sheets against Ukraine either side of a key save to deny Troy Parrott in a 2-1 win over the Republic of Ireland mean he contributed as much as anyone in the space of six days to secure promotion.
Gordon will be 41 by the time Scotland take their place among Europe’s elite in the next Nations League campaign come 2024. That’s one year older than David Weir was when the former defender ran out against Spain in 2010 aged 40 years and 155 days, the most senior Scot to pull on the shirt.
But it’s not stopping Gordon targeting still being No.1 at an age when contemporaries will be watching with their pipe and tartan slippers on. He said: “That’s what I’ve said to the boys, that I’ll be trying my best. Who knows? It’s a while away yet. Let’s see what happens. I’ll give it a go.
“Just to be part of this group is fantastic, a great bunch of boys to come away with. You can see how much they’re fighting for each other every single game.
“Everybody enjoys coming away – it’s a great atmosphere. We’ve really created that now and we want to keep it as long as possible. We want to try to get to major tournaments. We’ve had a taste of one and we want to give ourselves the best chance to do it again.”
Fight perfectly summed up the display in the 0-0 draw with Oleksandr Petrakov’s side, which secured top spot in Group B1. The contrast to the style of performance which swept the same nation away at Hampden six days previously was stark but every bit as impressive. Ryan Porteous embodied the spirit of the camp with a stand-out show at centre-half on his debut.
And cross-city rivalries went out the window as Gordon lavished praise on the Hibs man. He said: “Ryan was brilliant, what a debut. Really composed on the ball, threw his body when he had to, he made some good blocks even when they were ultimately offside at times.
“We’ve all known he’s a good player and he’s been coming through for a while. I spoke to David Marshall about him a few months ago and he was loving playing behind him.
“David said he was an excellent player and expected big things. Ryan showed why against Ukraine. Not only was he a great defender but he was good on the ball for us. A composed, confident first game for him.”
The big keeper’s Jambos team-mate Stephen Kingsley ended a six-year wait to win a second cap when he came off the bench to shore up the backline in the closing stages of the crunch clash. The 28-year-old hasn’t been involved since a 3-0 friendly defeat by France in June 2016.
Gordon said: “I was really pleased for Stephen to get on the park for Scotland again. This is a slightly better outcome than the last time he managed that.
“I’m delighted for him. He’s been working so hard at the club, so to get that recognition, to come on in such a pressured environment and see out the game, was great for Stephen.
“But right across the back I could name every single one of the boys. Aaron Hickey, he’s come in, played in all three games and given so much.
“A lot of the play came down his side. So composed on the ball, he can bring it inside on his left foot, which is almost as good as his right you don’t know. You just don’t know which foot he kicks with. Aaron’s a fantastic prospect for this team.”
Steve Clarke’s record from 40 games in charge stands up against some of the greats in Hampden history. And Gordon reckons it’s also the unseen work of keeper coach Chris Woods as well as set-piece specialist Austin MacPhee that have become key elements to the national team’s upward trajectory in recent years.
He added: “Chris is so calm, which suits me. There are so many things behind the scenes we do. The set-pieces, we go through them with Austin.
“He’s been brilliant since he came in. We’ve really stepped up our game in that.
“Woodsy speaks to him and then we have a meeting on that side of things for the goalkeepers. It is a real good team effort from everyone.
“The backroom staff do everything they possibly can to support and prepare the players – it’s hugely appreciated. We all know their value.
“We’ve come away to Poland to play Ukraine, we’ve changed the system, changed one or two players and things that we’ve been doing to try to get better. And we’ve picked up seven points out of three very difficult games.”
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