SCOTLAND V MOLDOVA: Steve Clarke 'It was important to win, play on front foot and keep clean sheet'

Steve Clarke played down Scotland’s profligacy as he described their 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Moldova at Hampden Park as a “good night” for his side. A close-range finish after 13 minutes by striker Lyndon Dykes against the Group F minnows proved to be enough for three points but the Scots missed several chances to make the night more comfortable. Clarke said: “It was important to win, it was important to play on the front foot and I think we did that. It was important to get a clean sheet and we did that as well so, a good night for us. “We had to win the game tonight otherwise Tuesday would have been probably a dead rubber so it was nice to get the three points and we look forward to a trip to Vienna and a tough game against the Austrians. Clarke praised 19-year-old Rangers right-back Nathan Patterson, starting for the first time and 20-year-old man-of-the-match midfielder Gilmour, on loan at Norwich from Chelsea, although he was keen to stress the part played by the senior players in his team. He said: “Nathan had a really good game. I wasn’t surprised. If you watch him play for Rangers he is a good player. I knew what he would give us, he gave us good energy going forward. Further reading: TOUGH TASK https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/7655457/scotland-qatar-world-cup-play-offs-second-group-b/ Become a Scottish Sun Subscriber and hit the bell to be the first to know Read The Sun: http://www.theScottishsun.co.uk Like The Sun on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thescottishsun/ Follow The Sun on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScottishSun