Hibs ace Bowie opens up on Steve Clarke call, World Cup 'incentive' - and watching Hampden glory from his bed
Easter Road favourite scored goal and assist as David Gray’s men crushed Dundee
Kieron Bowie watched Scotland’s biggest World Cup moment in almost three decades from the comfort of his bed – and was then promptly ordered to turn off the TV. To sleep, perchance to dream of playing a more active role for Steve Clarke’s men in next summer’s finals?
The Hibs striker, who bagged his first goal in 10 games AND pitched in with an assist in yesterday’s comfortable 2-0 win over Dundee at Easter Road, was part of Clarke’s squad as recently as last month. But he paid the price for a dip in form heading into the closing qualifiers, missing out on selection for last weekend’s loss to Greece in Athens – and Tuesday night’s absolutely jaw-dropping collision with the dazed Danes at Hampden.
Scotland boss called to explain selection
Bowie, who revealed that he’d received a phone call from Clarke to explain his exclusion from the squad, admitted he’d been transfixed by the scenes in Glasgow as Scotland won 4-2 in wildly dramatic circumstances, saying: “Obviously, the other night, it was unbelievable to watch it. I mean, you want be there to experience it, but unfortunately that's not happened this time.
“It's just an added incentive. Obviously, we've got an amazing squad, good forwards, and it'll be tough to get back in there. I just need to keep doing what I'm doing here, and hopefully, it's just an added bonus.
“I was in my bed watching the game. And after the game was done, my girlfriend was like: ‘Turn that off now …’ I was like: ‘Uh, OK …’
“Steve Clarke phoned me the night before (the squad was announced), just to let me know. It wasn't a surprise, which was good. He says he would do that to everybody, whoever it was getting left out. It was good to know the night before.
“I remember my girlfriend asking me if I was all right. I was like. ‘Yes, I've just got to get on with it, and keep doing what I'm doing.’
“Hopefully, the next one, I can be in it. To watch the game, it was amazing for everybody. You want to be there, like I said, and hopefully, I can be in the next one.
“There's no need to speak about it. I know what I need to do, and I just need to keep doing it, and crack on with it.”
Former Fulham forward relieved after missing sitter
Bowie knows staying on the goal trail for Hibs will be crucial if he’s to make it to Canada, Mexico in the USA. Scotland’s first World Cup appearance since 1998 is one hell of an incentive for anyone within shouting distance of the squad.
He made a decent start yesterday. Even allowing for missing – by his own admission – an absolute sitter with the game still goalless.
“Yeah, obviously, early on I felt like I couldn't score,” he said, referencing his point-blank header over the bar as he added: I missed from about a yard out, which is almost impossible - but it happened anyway!
“The boys are shouting at me to come on and score: And I was like: ‘I didn't try and miss …’ Do you know what I mean? I didn't try and put it over the bar.
“I just had to get on with it. What was that, 20 minutes? Not even. There was a long time to go in the game, and I knew a chance would come eventually, and thankfully it did.
“It's just about bouncing back after that. I just sort of got a laugh it off, because I could easily have went under - and then that would have been me for the game.
“I know that, to get on the scoresheet, I just need to keep doing what I'm doing and hopefully goals will come. I'm thankful that happened today.”
Revealing just how relieved he was to score the opener just before the half-hour mark, Bowie said: “It was more frustration than anything and a bit of relief. After that, you just see me all going over to Nicky Cadden and I just sort of exhaled and said: ‘Thank God.’
“Actually, it wasn’t thank God. It was thank something else …”
At the age of 23, but with injuries having restricted the amount of football he’s played, Bowie remains a work in progress. Work being the operative word.
Hibs boss David Gray is forever praising the former Scotland Under-21 star, who now has two full caps for the senior team, for the hard graft he puts in on the training ground. And the open approach he takes to learning from every outing.
Constant analysis in search of perfection
The former Fulham and Raith forward sees constant education and improvement as part of his job, explaining: “There's a lot of analysis, like a lot of clips that I'm watching back. So I could have done this at this moment, and stuff like that, rather than actually on the pitch. There's a few times where I'm not getting into the right positions, because I'm doing other stuff, whereas I need to just get in between the goalposts, and I'll score goals.
“I like to watch all my own clips back, just to see what I could have done in this instance, whether I should score, or if it's a tougher chance than what I think it is. I feel like when you're young, you need to continue to develop, and I feel like I'm doing that.”
Asked if he would force himself to look again at the headed chance squandered against Dundee, Bowie grinned as he insisted: “I will watch it, and I'll be laughing! I was like, oh my God, I can't believe I missed that. Thankfully, the goal came in the end.”
If fit and in form, Bowie is more than just an asset to Hibs. He has the potential to be a real threat on the international stage.
Like so many powerful centre forwards down the years, he’s still learning to strike the balance between leading the line – a necessity when you’ve got his sort of physical gifts – with aggression and movement, and playing the role of penalty-box poacher. It’s a subject he’s discussed with club gaffer Gray often enough.
“It's not just all about goals,” he said, offering an insight into those conversations as he revealed: “Obviously, when we played Livingston, I came out of the team and he was just reinforcing that it wasn't performance-based, it was just to freshen it up.
“Since then, I've been back in the team, just trying to do the basics again, like I was at the start of the season. Just trying to get back into that groove of things and being confident in myself - and taking shots more than I'm passing it. Thankfully, it paid off against Dundee.
“At the end of the day, you're judged on scoring goals. But the gaffer has obviously said that I'm doing everything that he wants me to do. That's obviously, in my mind, a positive. I want to score as many goals as I can. Hopefully, I can keep doing that.”