Despite his free-scoring form for Hearts over the past few seasons, Lawrence Shankland has struggled to establish himself for his country.
Only four of his 18 Scotland appearances before this came as a starter, but he made a compelling case to be the man who leads the line at the World Cup here.
The 30-year-old has one key quality that sets him apart from Lyndon Dykes, Che Adams, George Hirst and Ross Stewart, and it’s a pretty important one – pure goal-scoring instincts.
After a quiet first half during which he dropped too deep looking to get involved in the build-up play, Shankland came alive, netting two excellent strikes inside the penalty box.
So has he earned Clarke’s trust as a starter rather than a finisher of games?
“Lawrence is a good player, I’ve never had any doubts about that,” the head coach said. “I know you guys [in the media] don’t think that, but I’ve never had any doubts about Lawrence and what he can bring to the squad.
“I thought we struggled to get Lawrence into the game first half, I felt he was coming a little bit too deep whereas Lawrence’s strength is obviously in the box.
“Even the set-piece goal that we got, the delivery into him wasn’t great but he still managed to dig it out, so his two finishes are pretty much typical Lawrence Shankland.”
