The match had barely begun when the night sky over Athens was already ablaze with distress flares, signaling early trouble for Scotland.

Despite pre-game assurances from Steve Clarke that his team would remain composed and unfazed, the events that unfolded at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium told a different story.

A long ball from Greek goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos sparked chaos for Scotland. John Souttar misjudged the ball’s trajectory, setting off a chain of defensive errors.

For Scotland, it was a nightmare scenario. The defensive mishaps weren’t just isolated incidents but rather a pattern that persisted throughout the entire match.

At times, Scotland’s defense resembled the disarray of a child’s toy box, with players scattered and lacking coordination.

The post-mortem begins in Scotland defence after they ship a second goal in Greece

Che Adams looks sheepish on a night when he missed a number of great chances

Ben Gannon-Doak appears as frantic as the Tartan Army on a crazy night for Scotland

Reflecting on the game, Clarke remarked, “It was the long balls over the top that troubled us. That’s not typical of us, and I hope this was just an anomaly because it’s not usually an area of weakness for us.”

To go in at half-time only 1-0 down felt like a minor miracle in itself. It owed to some brilliant saves from Gordon, the 42-year-old veteran wheeled out to answer the call and play his first game in six months.

There was no structure to Scotland, no obvious plan in terms of what they were trying to do. They were dreadful in possession, and even worse in defence.

Even when they created chances, they squandered a lot of them. Woeful defending, wasteful finishing. Clarke had challenged his players to bring their ‘A-game’. But this was an F at best. Flunked.

What had they been doing for the past week at their training camp at a luxury resort in Turkey? Topping up their tan? Sunning themselves and having a jolly?

Watching the paucity of what they served up during that first half-hour or so on Saturday night, it was difficult to see how their excursions in Turkey had benefited them.

Scotland were chasing shadows, and even the shadows were getting away from them. Gordon bailed them out with save after save, defying all logic and the fact he will turn 43 in only a few weeks’ time.

Clarke could only watch in disbelief as Scots lost three goals in 3-2 defeat

Veteran Craig Gordon was brilliant for Scotland but was let down by the men in front of him

Clarke’s side eventually awoke from their stupor and created some great chances of their own in a 10-minute burst either side of half-time.

Scott McTominay rattled the crossbar, Ben Gannon-Doak fluffed his lines when he was through one-on-one, Che Adams missed the target with a back-post header from close range.

Adams had another brilliant chance when Ryan Christie squared the ball after half-time, but his finish was poor. Another huge moment gone.

It was so wasteful from Scotland – and they would pay for it. Greece looked like they had killed the game when goals from teenage wonderkid Konstantinos Karetsas and the excellent Christos Tzolis made it 3-0.

The strike from Tzolis flew straight through Gordon’s gloves. He should have saved it, but it was his only mistake all night. Had it not been for him, Scotland could have been 6-0 down by that point.

Scotland looked dead and buried. Yet, somehow, the faint flicker of a pulse. Someone found the defibrillator and zapped them back to life.

What unfolded over the next half-hour or so was truly extraordinary. This was a night when the football Gods wore tartan and decided to smile on Scotland.

Scotland launched an assault on Greece. Gannon-Doak made it 3-1, a Ryan Christie header for 3-2. They couldn’t, could they?

Gannon-Doak pulled a goal back for Scots on a night when they were helped by events elsewhere

Ryan Christie urges Tartan Army to turn up the volume after scoring Scots’ second goal

McTominay should have scored to make it 3-3, only to be denied by Vlachodimos. There were other chances for Scotland amid the madness of it all.

They fell just short of getting the point they craved, but here was a gift from Copenhagen.

Belarus, ranked 103rd in the world, snatched the most unlikely of points against the Danes. It was a scenario that no one had even considered prior to kick-off.

The Scotland players waited out on the pitch as the rest of the stadium emptied. Packed into a little corner, the Tartan Army were frantically hitting the refresh button and checking for updates.

An almighty roar went up. The most remarkable act of escapology was complete, the denouement coming almost 1,500 miles away at the Parken Stadium.

It was at that venue where Scotland began this qualifying campaign so positively. A 0-0 draw against Denmark on the opening night remains the best performance Clarke’s side have delivered over five matches thus far.

The performances are getting worse, certainly in terms of the defence. To be only 90 minutes and one win away from qualifying for a World Cup is incredible, given how poorly Scotland have played.

Would any supporters really care if they go on and dig out another scrappy, ugly 1-0 win on Tuesday night? Of course not.

Scotland fans faced an anxious wait before discovering to their delight that Danes had dropped two points against Belarus

Scott McTominay tries to score a third goal for Scotland on a dramatic night in Greece

But let’s not be fooled here. Scotland are living a charmed life. It would be naïve not to recognise that. There will come a point, whether it’s against Denmark or in the play-offs further down the line, where the luck might run out.

They can’t keep starting matches so poorly and expect to get away with it. Eventually, a cold harsh reality will bite them.

They can’t rely on someone else to bail them out on Tuesday night. The equation is simple – win the game and clinch qualification, or else it’s the play-offs.

Clarke has major issues to address. Hanley and Souttar have established themselves as the first-choice pairing at centre-back in this campaign, but they were both miles off it in Athens.

There’s a case they should both be dropped. That would be a radical move. Probably too radical for someone as stubborn and loyal as Clarke.

But he would be making a rod for his own back if he blindly stuck with Hanley and Souttar, only for them to repeat the same mistakes.

Scott McKenna would be the most likely to come into the team, but it’s still a big call. There is also the uncertainty around Billy Gilmour to consider.

Does Clarke play him even if he’s, say, 75-80 per cent fit? Is Gilmour’s guile and composure on the ball so invaluable in a must-win game such as this?

The defence has to improve if Scots are to have any chance of beating Danes and reaching first World Cup finals since 1998

The balance of the midfield didn’t look quite right against Greece. John McGinn almost found himself playing on the left wing at times. It was all a bit ham-fisted.

These are just some of the issues which are bound to be swirling around Clarke’s head. He probably needed a lie down in a dark room after the events of Saturday night.

But he has much to ponder heading into what promises to be one of the most seismic, most rumbustious nights Hampden has witnessed in many a long year.

It is a chance for Scotland to qualify for a tournament in front of their own fans at Hampden for the first time since 1989.

It felt like they used an awful lot of their nine lives on Saturday night. How many are left?