If ever there was a metaphor for how a game went for Scotland, the two burst balls during the first half here at the national stadium provided it. Hampden deflated. Hopes punctured. The Tartan Army flat.
This was supposed to be a night of celebration, where heroes of the past were honoured, and present-day ones were heralded. John McGinn, for instance, was winning his 75th cap. The Scots were in fine form, having won three on the spin and being unbeaten in four.
Hampden history hung heavy over the national stadium, with a huge tifo tribute to Denis Law unveiled in the North Stand as the teams emerged from the tunnel - reading simply ‘Lawman’ - and a tribute paid to Davie Cooper too on what was the 30th anniversary of the legendary winger’s untimely death.
The challenge for the modern crop of boys in dark blue here was not to prove themselves worthy of being mentioned alongside such greats, but to prove that they belonged at the elite level of European international football, and it has to be said, unfortunately, they fell well short. They looked unfit to even be on the same pitch as the Greeks at times.
It was all set up for a night to remember, but if it is to be recalled, it may well be for the emergence of a hero in white. Seventeen-year-old Konstantinos Karetsas dazzled on the Greek right, and very much appears to be a star in the making.
Steve Clarke had made one change to his line-up from the win in Piraeus, with Ryan Christie coming in on the right of midfield in place of Lewis Ferguson. It would prove an ill-fated decision.
The Bournemouth man looked out of sorts patrolling his old patch having excelled in a more central role for his club this season. He was partially culpable for the Greeks’ second just before the interval, and hugely so for their killer third just 15 seconds after the restart, inexplicably coughing the ball up with a wayward inside pass.
In fairness, Christie was hardly alone. Scotland were slow and cumbersome in their build up, and far too deliberate, allowing the Greeks to stifle any forays into their territory. And the visitors looked dangerous on the counter, appearing to be coiled and waiting for an error from the Scots. And when Kenny McLean slipped 20 minutes in, they pounced.
It was notable throughout the first half just how much space that Scotland were affording the Greeks around the edge of their area, and when Karetsas quickly fed the ball to Giorgos Vagiannidis on the right, alarm bells were ringing.
Sure enough, his cut back found Giannis Konstantelias in acres where he slammed home past Craig Gordon to level the tie.
Still, no reason to panic. If anything, though, the Scots stuck too rigidly to their previous approach of passing the ball around their own territory without really doing too much with it. And all the while, the Greeks waited for their opportunity.
It came just before the break. A simple ball in behind on the right caught Christie flat-footed, and it was panic stations at the back for Scotland again.
Anthony Ralston dived in, and missed his challenge. The ball was worked to Vangelis Pavlidis in a central area, and Andy Robertson left his post in a desperate attempt to put pressure on the striker. All he succeeded in doing was leaving boy wonder Keretsas free as a bird in the area he had vacated, where he received the ball and caressed it beautifully into the opposite top corner.
It would get worse for the Scots and for Christie before the majority of Hampden were back in their seats following the interval. He has been a fine servant for his country, but to say this was a night to forget for Christie would be rather the understatement.
His attempted pass inside went straight to Konstantelias, who was free to drive towards the Scottish box. He slipped in Christos Tzolis, who slipped it into the net, and Scotland were slipping towards the trapdoor of League B of the Nations League once more.
Clarke threw on just about every attacking option he had. But there was no Law or Cooper among them. Even if there had been, even those two might have struggled to pull this one out of the fire.
Instead, it was the game youngsters, George Hirst, Tommy Conway, and debutant James Wilson. Could one of them make himself a hero? Not this night. They ran around and tried desperately to provide a spark, but this had long ago been consigned to a damp squib sort of an evening.
So, league B awaits once more. More worrying though is that Greece will return here in October in the early knockings of the World Cup qualification campaign.
Scotland and the Tartan Army will now be approaching those matches with a degree of trepidation. Having hoped to leave Hampden warmed by the memories of heroes old and buoyed by the performance of heroes new, they were instead served a sobering reminder of the limitations of their team.
