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Scotland’s big day ruined at Euros as magic Schick silences noisy Hampden Park
It was always going to take something special to silence Hampden Park and, in the end, it was Patrik Schick who produced a moment of magic to stun the Scotland fans.
The Czech Republic striker scored what will undoubtedly go down as the goal of Euro 2020 - and probably one of the best in the competition’s history - just after half-time and it sucked the life out of the stadium.
It was an amazing goal from Schick, struck from just inside the Scotland half (49.7 yards to be precise), and the ball travelled at such speed that goalkeeper David Marshall could get nowhere near as it sailed over his head.
No player has ever scored a goal from that far out in the European Championship since records began back in 1980 and it unsurprisingly left everyone inside Hampden stunned.
Before that, the stadium had been a sea of noise and colour, with Scotland supporters in full voice as they celebrated being back at a major tournament for the first time in 23 years.
The city of Glasgow was a vibrant place too, with men dressed in kilts, kids with their hair dyed blue and fans waving their Scotland flags as they walked towards Hampden.
Inside the stadium, the noise ramped up as kick-off approached and the rendition of the national anthem had the hairs on the back of your neck standing up. There were only around 10,000 people at Hampden due to Covid-19 restrictions, but if you shut your eyes you’d have believed it was full.
The excitement and nervous energy seemed to transmit to the players, though, as the game started at a frantic pace.
That probably isn’t surprising when you consider the size of the occasion, but there was a need for more composure early on.
Andy Roberston, Scotland’s captain and best player on a disappointing afternoon, knew as much and more than once he called for calm and signalled with his hands for his team-mates to relax.
They did their best, but, just before the break, Schick struck his first of the afternoon. It was a lovely header from the striker, who flicked home Vladimir Coufal’s cross with pinpoint precision.
That didn’t silence the Scotland fans, who roared their team on and urged them to fight back.
After the break, it looked as though they could rally and, before Schick scored his wonder goal in the 52nd minute, Jack Hendry struck the crossbar and Tomas Vaclik made a stunning save to stop Tomas Kalas from scoring an own goal.
Those near-misses summed up Scotland’s afternoon as, even after going 2-0 down, they had moments where they almost sparked a comeback.
But every time the likes of Stuart Armstrong or James Forrest got through, somehow a Czech player was there to deny them with a block.
It capped off a painful and ultimately disappointing day for Scotland, who now have to dust themselves down and prepare for a trip to Wembley to face England on Friday.
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