A laboured Scotland climbed to the top of their World Cup qualifying group with a nervy 2-1 victory over Belarus, but the performance left the Hampden Park crowd far from impressed.
With fans expecting a commanding display against a side ranked 100th in the world, Che Adams’ early strike and a late goal from Scott McTominay were enough to secure three points — though it was anything but convincing.
Adams fired Scotland ahead in the 15th minute, spinning sharply on the edge of the box to bury his shot low past the goalkeeper after a brief offside check.
But the hosts failed to build on that momentum, and their sluggish tempo drew frustration from the stands.
Belarus thought they had equalised through Evgeni Malashevich, only for VAR to rule the goal out for a foul in the build-up.
The visitors continued to threaten, and their patience nearly paid off late on when Hleb Kuchko pulled one back in stoppage time to set up a tense finale.
Scotland’s second came from McTominay, who coolly finished with six minutes remaining to seemingly kill off the game — though they were forced to hang on as Belarus pushed forward in the closing moments.
The result marked Steve Clarke’s 72nd match in charge, making him Scotland’s longest-serving men’s head coach, but the milestone was met with mixed reactions.
Boos and applause echoed at full-time, reflecting supporters’ unease over another unconvincing display.
Despite collecting back-to-back wins in this international window, Clarke’s side looked far from their best.
They sit top of Group C on goal difference, though Denmark remain close behind with games in hand.
For now, the points are all that matter — but if Scotland are to finally return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998, sharper performances will be needed in their final two qualifiers next month.
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke: "If you'd said at the start of this camp we'd come out with six points, everyone would've been really happy.
"But, I have to be honest, tonight I was really, really disappointed in my team. I don't think we got anywhere near the levels we can and that was really disappointing.
"We've come out with the three points, so that's one small crumb of comfort but the rest of it is a bit of a headscratcher [as to] why we were so poor."
Scotland captain Andy Robertson: "It doesn't feel good and it doesn't feel like a win at the minute. I think you can see that by our reaction, which is hugely frustrated. The performance is nowhere near where we need it to be.
"At the start of the week we would have taken the six points and we can look back in November at where we are [and be pleased with it] but walking off the pitch it doesn't feel good. It's a hugely frustrating night."
Scotland defender Scott McKenna: "Performance-wise, we let ourselves down. The only positive is that we scored two goals and managed to get three points.
"At half-time the manager came in but he was absolutely furious with us.
"We didn't win any first balls, didn't win any second balls either. Belarus probably looked more dangerous than us over the 90 minutes."
