IT was a close shave in the Gillette Stadium.
Maybe not the razor sharp Scotland performance Steve Clarke hoped for.
John McGinn celebrates in trademark style Credit: Alamy
McGinn is mobbed by delighted team-mates Credit: SNS
Or a smooth finish.
But all that mattered was that there was one, magical moment from John McGinn that was the best a nation could get.
The Tartan Army had a Boston Haiti party after this World Cup win that puts their heroes top of Group C.
And all the sweat and anxiety throughout this 90-odd minutes was worth it.
There’s more to come from this group of men and it’s only going to get tougher against Morocco and Brazil next.
But the fans here and the ones back home rightly celebrated long into the night and the early hours.
McGinn wrote his name into the history books with his first-half strike that ultimately separated the sides.
The goal didn’t just take one deflection on its way into the back the Haiti net.
It shifted direction twice.
But did any Scotland fan here or at home care one iota?
Don’t be daft.
No, it maybe wasn’t the greatest World Cup goal that’s ever been scored. It just felt like it.
Scotland’s first since Craig Burley’s lob against Norway in the summer of 1998.
Like that one 28 long years ago, a moment in time to remember forever.
Scotland were worth the lead.
Scott McTominay looked leggy after his bout of sickness and didn’t have a good first-half by his lofty standards.
But he still smacked the most with an earlier shot after great play from Ben Gannon-Doak.
The wee fella was definitely in the mood.
Scotland just didn’t get the ball to him often enough before the interval.
Whenever they did, makeshift left-back Martin Experience looked like he had none.
Gannon-Doak twisted him one way, then the other. He’d move outside one minute, then cut inside the next.
Haiti had their own lively winger on the right who gave And Robertson work to do.
On the other flank, Aaron Hickey had it tough and at one stage needed to make a superb intervention to clear real danger.
No1 Angus Gunn almost gifted a goal, too, when he fed the ball back into the danger zone in another worrying moment.
There were other half-chances on the edge of the Scotland box the Haitians didn’t make the most of.
Clarke looked anxious at times down on the touchline.
Striker Lawrence Shankland lost the ball far too often for his liking with his performance laced with nervy touches.
But that McGinn goal gave Scotland a lead at the break that was joyous.
An early second-half booking for Hickey put the Brentford defender under even more pressure than he was already feeling.
There were some more worrying Haiti attacks.
But Scotland’s effort and commitment to the cause was there in spades all over the pitch.
Gannon-Doak didn’t just get forward for the team, he raced back.
The winger roaring to the crowd after shielding the ball out of play to make sure Scotland got a goal kick.
Robertson almost set up a second goal after 55 minutes with Shankland inches away from getting on the end of his inviting cross.
The fact Scotland didn’t add to their lead meant there was always the danger they could live to regret it.
McGinn snatched at a shot before being wiped out.
Clarke turned to his bench after the final water break after 70 minutes.
Nathan Patterson, Ryan Christie and Lyndon Dykes replaced Hickey, Gannon-Doak and Adams.
Next Shankland and McGinn made way fir Kenny McLean and Findlay Curtis.
It was a nervy finale with Haiti piling men forward in search of a last gasp equaliser. Headers flew wide. Shots were fired over.
But Scotland refused to let their lead slip and got three points on the board.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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