With a 2-2 draw against Finland, Scotland concluded their preparations for Euro 2024 and Tommy Conway won his maiden cap for his country.
Tommy Conway, a striker for Bristol City, expressed his pride that his late grandfather Danny would be watching over him as he reflected on his family’s memorable day—his senior debut for Scotland.
Conway played the last 27 minutes of Scotland’s 2-2 friendly tie with Finland after coming off the bench. He nearly gave the hosts the lead at Hampden Park when he leaped to meet Greg Taylor’s cross, but Viljami Sinisalo made a great stop to keep him from scoring.
Conway, who was born in Taunton, is eligible since his grandpa was from Stirling, and his father Joe has Tartan Army ancestors living north of the border.
The forward for the Robins has had a busy week considering he only joined the team on Tuesday after being cut from the Under-21 lineup. He is gearing up for his first major competition after making Steve Clarke’s final 26 for the European Championships.
It seems unreal. To be honest, it hasn’t really hit home yet, and I doubt I’ll get much sleep tonight. It’s going to be a really wonderful day, and I know my grandpa will be looking down and being proud, as well as my family here,” Conway told BBC Scotland.
“I think it’s a really proud day all around. To do that and make my debut, I think it’s 100% [about family].” “I don’t think there’s anything better in football than making your family proud and playing on the international stage for your country is the pinnacle for me.”
Scotland led 2-0 in Glasgow thanks to an own goal by Arttu Hoskonen on minute 54 and a goal by Lawrence Shankland four minutes later. However, they let the lead slip in the last 20 minutes, losing it to Benjamin Kallman and Oliver Antman’s penalty kick five minutes from time.
After a 2-0 victory over Gibraltar and a scoreless draw against the Finns, Tartan Army manager Steve Clarke acknowledged that the game’s conclusion was unsatisfactory. The team will enter Euro 2024 with these results. Next Friday, they play the opening match of their campaign against the hosts, Germany.
Conway is one of Clarke’s four forward options; Che Adams and Shankland, who found the goal this week, will undoubtedly fight for a starting spot at the Allianz Arena in Munich. However, the 21-year-old displayed his skill in the penalty area by making room for his late header, which nearly made for a flawless debut.
“For a little moment, I believed it was in. I struck the goalie and a few boys, and Scott McTominay was asking me why I hadn’t scored. Conway continued, “I told him I was putting them away for next week. “It is a great honour to be going there, and I will seize the chance when it presents itself.”
Ross McCrorie, a teammate from City who had started the first match against Gibraltar, was not used as a substitute at Hampden Park, while Anthony Ralston of Celtic was preferred at right-back and played the entire ninety minutes. They’ll both be travelling to Germany by plane next week.
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