Scotland reaction: Steve Clarke on margin of victory and 'exceptional' performer as Haiti make penalty claim

Only time will tell whether the 1-0 victory, secured by deflected goal from John McGinn just before the half hour mark, will be the launch pad to reach the knockout stage of a tournament for the first time. But the manager stressed that the group of players deserve to be lauded for securing another landmark achievement. They are continuing to find new ways to distinguish themselves.

The Scots play Morocco at the same Boston Stadium venue on Friday. They go into this game as leaders of Group C after Brazil drew with the African champions in the other match in the group.

Looking down on the likes of Brazil is a novel feeling. Scotland’s somewhat tortured relationship with the World Cup, and indeed tournament football in general, means a win, however narrow, must be savoured.

It’s just Scotland’s fifth in World Cup history stretching back to 1954 and encompassing nine tournaments in total. It is the first since a victory over Sweden at Italia 90, when Clarke was excluded from the squad.

“It just shows how difficult it is for a country like Scotland to go to a World Cup and win games,” he said. “It does not happen very often. This group of players I have spoken about many, many times, they have shown their experience tonight.

“We spoke about the last ones, we were disappointed with the two performances and the two outcomes in the two Euros. This time you have that pressure on you as well as the pressure you must win your first game. They deserve it. They have been so good for the nation in the last seven years. They deserve to be the team to finally have won a game at a World Cup.”

‘If Haiti penalty had been given it would have been right’

It was fraught and often suffocatingly intense. Haiti striker Frantzky Pierrot glanced a header just past the post with five minutes left and there were other near things as well. Scotland failed to build on their goal from McGinn although the same player did come close to a second in the second half when he pulled a shot just wide.

Scotland also survived a scare when Grant Hanley appeared to use his hand when blocking a shot from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde after 72 minutes.

“Many people were talking about a possible hand ball from Scotland and if the penalty had have been given for the Bellegarde shot it would have been right,” said Haiti manager Sebastien Migne afterwards. Clarke was not for letting anything spoil his enjoyment of securing three points, which many regarded as a non-negotiable given the tests to come.

“What’s not to enjoy when you walk out onto the pitch before the game almost an hour and a half before the game and I see my family walking down the steps to sit in the stand?” he said.

“It is special. And when we finish the game they are right behind the dugout. It is special. And then you go into the middle of the park with your team to celebrate a win. You see the Tartan Army all the way round the stadium having a great time – they were swearing mind in one of the songs! Listen, I said I was going to enjoy it, and when your team wins, that’s easy.”

Clarke hailed Lewis Ferguson’s performance in the middle of the park. “Exceptional,” he said. “He's been a massive player for us, Lewis. He had to be very patient to wait for his chances to come into the team, but since we put him in there, he's become a key player.” The manager was slightly cooler about Ben Gannon-Doak’s contribution. Although many felt the 20-year-old was man of the match, Clarke sought to temper expectations.

“Listen, Ben's Ben,” he said. “He does what he does. Every now and again, he'll have that little skip away. I thought their full-back (Martin Experience) played really well.

“I thought they, as a team, actually handled him (Gannon-Doak) really well. It was a difficult night for Ben, but when you're taking Ben off and you're bringing Ryan Christie on, you're not dropping the levels any. That shows that we've got players that can come from the bench.

“We needed the players from the bench just to give us that energy to see the game over the line. I think rather than singling out two players, I would just say that the 16 players did what they had to do, and we started the tournament with a win.”

He dismissed those already fearing the narrow victory might not be enough in the final analysis. “Everyone told me it was a must-win game and we won the game,” he said. “If it is a must-win game and you win then I think you can be happy for yourselves.

“The next two games against sides in the top ten are going to be tough,” he added. “ Obviously we go into them under a bit less pressure than everyone put us under going into this game. Everyone put a lot of pressure on ourselves going into the first game so we go into the next two games under a bit less pressure. If we can defend as well as we did there and show the same resilience and hopefully play a little bit better with the ball and create a little bit more...”

Morocco, he said, are now his sole focus. "It's not about raising the performance, it's about approaching a different game against a different opponent, finding a way to get a result in that game as well. That's the whole focus there. Morocco are a really good side.

"I managed to catch little bits and pieces of the game (v Brazil) this evening. Now when I go back, I'll try and sleep. If I don't sleep, I'll stick on the laptop and I'll watch the game back. Then we start working from there."