World Cup Qualifiers: Can a dejected Scotland pull itself together to the end?

And when McTominay scored Scotland’s second goal six minutes from time, he walked away with the indifference of a man who was adding a cherry on top of a rich performance rather than calming nerves at the end of a very tense game.

By scoring the 13th goal in his international career, McTominay showed a calmness that contradicted the tension, but he did not continue and did not deserve to continue.

Belarus had more attempts on Scotland’s goal than Scotland did – and when Hleb Kuchko scored past Robertson to make it 2-1, it was well deserved.

You could say they deserve more. A draw would have been a fairer result. An away win wouldn’t be a steal.

Heart palpitations, dizziness and nausea are a possibility when you come to Hampden – and so it was again on Sunday.

Some of the conversations leading up to this game included the gallows humor that is very close to the heart of most members of the Tartan Army.

Having put themselves in a very promising position, with seven points from nine, including a narrow escape against the Greeks, the deadly side talked about how typical it would be if Scotland struggled against the weakest team in the group.

This was, in many ways, a continuation of the tension from Thursday, but facing an opponent with only an iota of Greece’s ability.

Belarus was scoreless in the campaign. No one really thought this would turn into such a horrific experience, but they talked about the possibility nonetheless, and brought up the potential horror of it all.