How Scotland reached the World Cup - told by those who made it happen
In the two minutes between 21:48 and 21:50 GMT on Tuesday, 18 November last year, the Glasgow Geothermal Observatory, stationed in Dalmarnock in the east of the city, picked up some seismic activity just over a mile away at Hampden Park. The noise, they noted, was akin to an extremely small earthquake - because between 21:48 and 21:50 on that Tuesday, Kenny McLean launched a shot 50 yards through the night sky and into the back of Kasper Schmeichel's net to seal Scotland's place at the men's World Cup this summer, their first since France 1998. After a wait of nearly 30 years, McLean's dig for the ages took 3.
38 seconds from boot to net. It was the final kick of the most extraordinary evening. Goals that will go down in legend.
Drama that will surely never be surpassed. Emotion that didn't just reverberate around Scotland, but the world. In the aftermath, head coach Steve Clarke said he could "smell magic" at Hampden and he was right.
There was something celestial about what went on, something pre-ordained, perhaps. A higher football power, higher even than Scott McTominay's boot when scoring the opener in the most gobsmacking way. "So much optimism after a loss.
It was like nothing made sense any more. " This wasn't just a story that began and ended on that Tuesday night. It had been unfolding for months and had the most brilliant endgame.