It had been a while since Scotland had scored a goal, never mind one so crisply finished as Kieron Bowie’s in Skopje last night.
His strike from outside the penalty area was Scotland’s first since John McGinn netted with the aid of a deflection against Haiti in the World Cup finals.
Not only did Bowie set the national side on their way to a 2-0 win over North Macedonia, he ensured that they avoided setting an unwanted record.
His effort early in a one-sided Nations League match meant that Scotland came within 18 minutes of recording the longest barren spell in their history.
Of course, that statistic would have been a little misleading, given that their four previous games, all without a goal, had been against Morocco, Brazil, Slovenia and Switzerland.
But, likewise, it would be a mistake to pretend that sparing new boss Sebastien Pocognoli an unwelcome headline has somehow solved his biggest problem.
Kieron Bowie opens the scoring in Scotland’s 2-0 victory against North Macedonia in Skopje
Hull City striker Oli McBurnie has not found the net in 19 appearances for his country
Scotland boss Sebastien Pocognoli wants his forwards to lead an aggressive pressing game
This team is still searching for a reliable goalscorer, as they proved in the remainder of a game that should have been won by a much wider margin.
Against a team ranked 69 in the world, they needed a penalty by McGinn to give them the comfort their domination deserved. Several players, Bowie included, were guilty of profligacy in front of goal.
They also came up against a pretty useful goalkeeper but that’s how it tends to be at international level. The same was said after Scotland’s draw in Slovenia seven days earlier.
The problem for Scotland in recent years is that they’ve never really had a prolific centre-forward who can also be relied upon to meet the demands of modern football.
That’s why Lawrence Shankland, then at Hearts, could not persuade Steve Clarke that he was the striker around whom an attacking unit should be built.
Pocognoli, with his aggressive counter-pressing, will be even less inclined to entertain anyone who is not first and foremost a quick, hard-working dynamo, especially out of possession.
Of those who were go-to men under Clarke, Torino striker Che Adams, absent through injury right now, is surely the likeliest to reclaim a place in the side.
But, at 30, he doesn’t have youth on his side, any more than Oli McBurnie, who is the same age. And the latter still hasn’t scored in 19 Scotland appearances.
If it’s natural goalscorers you are after, Robbie Ure and James Wilson, 22 and 19 respectively, are shaping up to be Pocognoli’s best bets in the long term.
Right now, 24-year-old Bowie, on loan to Sassuolo from Verona, occupies defenders, brings team-mates into play and goes that extra mile off the ball. He also likes a shot from distance, as he showed on Saturday.
What he probably isn’t is a penalty-box predator, at least not yet anyway. If he can add that to his game, he might just be what Scotland have been missing.
