John McGinn thought Euro dreams were over when Serbia equalised

Former Hibs’ star John McGinn thought that hopes of qualification for the 2020 European Championship were over when Luka Jovic’s late header hit the back of the net with 30-seconds left in the play-off match against Serbia.

McGinn had been substituted moments earlier and was sitting in the stands of the Rajko Mitic Stadium a looking forward to next summer after a superb team performance in Belgrade.

Instead he had to endure a hectic 30-minutes of extra time when the Scots held on with a brave ‘backs to the wall’ against the hosts before a nerve wracking penalty shoot-out.

In the play-off semi-final McGinn had volunteered to take the opening penalty against Israel which he converted but this time he had to rely on his team mates who didn’t let him down culminating in Derby keeper David Marshall’s glorious save from Aleksandar Mitrovic to secure a place in the finals.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game an emotional McGinn said: “We’ve been battered from pillar to post, sometimes deservedly so. But last night there was just a feeling, the first half, even though we were underdogs we played Serbia off the park.

“Maybe just towards the end we tired a little bit, when the goal went in I was sat on the side, up in the stand thinking, ‘typical Scotland ‘.

“I just thought that was us done, but the lads on the pitch, the lads that came on showed unbelievable character.

“Davie Marshall came up the save, and we’re going to the Euros.

“I don’t know how, but it means so much more. You need to wait four years and you need to watch England enjoy it, you need to watch Wales enjoy it. This is our time, and we deserve it.”