Steve Clarke and his players were perhaps the only ones who truly believed their Euro 2020 dream could be rekindled here at Wembley rather than washed out and extinguished in the lashing rain.
Three days after a nation was reunited with abject misery this was supposed to provide the final, crushing proof that Clarke has gone and got us out of our depth at this level.
Instead, Scotland left the English capital last night with a first Group D point and with aspirations soaring higher than the big arch lighting up London’s night sky.
Pride restored and a point proved. It turns out this great adventure may only be beginning rather than coming to its expected, agonisingly early end.