Hearts star Craig Gordon explains Scotland heroics and David Marshall call

Hearts star Craig Gordon followed in the footsteps of David Marshall in saving a penalty on a big night for the Scotland national team.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

A year to the day that Marshall denied Aleksandar Mitrović to secure passage to the European Championships, Gordon saved Vadim Rata’s spot kick as the team confirmed a World Cup play-off spot with a 2-0 win over Moldova.

It was one of two key saves, having produced an excellent first-half stop from captain Artur Ionita.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Gordon, who is nearing an international record for a Hearts player, revealed he had a chat with Marshall before the match.

“The first one was just a sharp reaction, I managed to get enough on it," he said. “I was lying there hoping it would go over the bar, it seemed to take ages to get up and over the bar but thankfully it landed on the roof of the net.

“Second one, it is the day for Scottish goalies to save penalties.

"It was exactly a year ago today that Marsh saved the one in Serbia so it must be a good omen for Scottish goalies. I spoke to him today about that, it was my turn tonight.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Gordon is now looking to add to the 20 points picked up from the campaign when Denmark come to Hampden Park on Monday as Scotland look to secure seeding for the play-off.

Craig Gordon produced more Scotland heroics in the win over Moldova. (Photo by Christian Hofer/Getty Images)Craig Gordon produced more Scotland heroics in the win over Moldova. (Photo by Christian Hofer/Getty Images)
Craig Gordon produced more Scotland heroics in the win over Moldova. (Photo by Christian Hofer/Getty Images)

“We have still got another game and we want to go for more and we will see what happens after that,” he said.

"We are happy with the way the campaign has gone, we put in some good performances.”

Read More
Craig Gordon comes up trumps for Scotland as all-time Hearts record beckons

Message from the editor

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our sports coverage with a digital sports subscription.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.