When Kostas Tsimikas swept in Greece’s goal on 62 minutes, it followed a passage of play that involved Greece making 54 almost unchallenged passes over three minutes during which Andy Robertson’s glancing header to clear a cross was the only Scottish touch.
It typified the passiveness of the first hour.
“I wonder whether Steve will look at bringing Billy Gilmour on,” McCann had already said at the break.
“I don’t think it’s worked with Ryan [Christie] and Lewis [Ferguson] playing really narrow and deep, because they’ve not got on it. We’ve not been able to build the game going through.”
Gilmour did not come on and suddenly grab the game by the scruff of the neck and change things on his own, but nonetheless his influence was there after Christie’s equaliser.
His first real opportunity to get his head up and pass was on 69 minutes and he fired it through a tight space to Ferguson, whose first-time pass round the corner just evaded Che Adams as Scotland sprung forward quickly.
Gilmour’s clever free-kick also teed up Adams for a good chance at 1-1 and he ended up with five passes into the final third during his half hour on the pitch.
Only Robertson and Ferguson had more – and they played nearly the full game.
“I think Billy Gilmour coming on was pivotal in terms of us getting hold of the ball,” McCann said at full-time on BBC Scotland’s Sportscene.
“He was instrumental in the cross-field pass which Tsimikas takes out Ferguson when he eventually scores.”
As McCann described, Gilmour’s prints were on the build-up to the second goal as his positioning allowed Grant Hanley to find a pass to him between two Greece players.
He turned and moved it forward to Christie, got it back, moved the ball to Robertson, before executing the crucial pass once McTominay returned it to him.
Tsimikas fouled Ferguson and the Bologna man did brilliantly to take his chance in the box from the free-kick as Scotland hit the front.