THERE were merciless jeers and ironic cheers.
But you had to pity Slicker.
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Scotland’s substitute goalkeeper ran onto the park hoping for a night to remember.
What he endured was a horrendous debut to forget.
You just had to wonder how Cieran Slicker found himself out there at Hampden in the first place.
The 22-year-old is the number THREE goalkeeper at Ipswich Town and has NEVER played a single minute of competitive league football in his career.
Yet when Angus Gunn limped off injured in the first two minutes in this friendly with Iceland he was suddenly thrust into the limelight.
And in the end, he was left wishing he was anywhere else.
The three abysmal goals he conceded were agonising to watch with the Tartan Army showing zero sympathy as he picked the ball out of his net three times.
But this was on Steve Clarke who has now had just four wins in his last 21 games.
He said he had a goalkeeper crisis going into this game. But he didn’t expect to face one as grim during it.
Before the World Cup qualifiers kick off in September – with an away double header against Denmark and Belarus – he’s now got just one more friendly to prepare, against Liechtenstein on Monday night.
And it really has to be so, so much better than this for the supporters who booed at half-time and again after the final whistle.
The game was only two minutes old when Gunn’s ankle buckled under him as he jumped for a high ball.
It was instantly clear his night was over.
The goalkeeper held his head and punched the turf in a combination of pain and frustration.
With No1 Craig Gordon missing through injury, this was the chance he’d been waiting for to get back into the team.
He’s without a club too, remember.
After being released by Norwich at the end of the season, he’s yet to sign anywhere else.
So the last thing Gunn needs is an injury in a close season when he’s trying to earn a contract.
As he was helped off the pitch, the question was who was going to replace him.
Robby McCrorie was sitting on the bench with the No12 shirt and the Kilmarnock shot-stopper was maybe expecting the shout.
But no, Clarke told Slicker to get stripped.
How they rated
Angus Gunn – Came for a cross in the first minute but crumpled with an ankle problem so was unable to continue. Terrible timing given he is without a club having left Norwich. 1
Max Johnston – Given his chance on the right hand side and made a positive impact. Will be disappointed he didn’t make more of a back post chance to score. A decent start. 6
John Souttar – Showed great strength inside the box to hold off his marker and head home Max Johnston’s wicked corner. Will be furious at the goals Scotland lost. 5
Grant Hanley – Tried to show Andri Gudjohnsen inside after Cieran Slicker’s poor kick but ended up with egg on his face as he whipped it into the top corner from 25 yards. Grim night. 4
Kieran Tierney – 50th cap and a poor occasion to hit that milestone. Matched Albert Gudmindsson’s runs all night before going off for debut man Lennon Miller in the closing stages. 5
Andy Robertson – Bombed up and down the left flank as he usually does but final balls were lacking the precision to really hurt Iceland. Skipper has to drag Scotland’s defence out of this rot. 5
John McGinn – Patrolled the middle of the park as he usually does but nothing really came off for him high up the pitch. Scotland will need him refreshed and flying in September. 5
Billy Gilmour – Did precisely what you expect from him now. Kept possession and the ball ticking over as the link man all over the pitch. Below his best like so many. 5
Lewis Ferguson – Didn’t know much about it at the own goal which put Iceland back in front. Unlucky as a comedy pinball moment saw the ball crack off him and squirm past Cieran Slicker. 5
Scott McTominay – Started on the left of midfield, tasked with supporting George Hirst. Few flashes of what he can do but a big game player so he keeps the real heroics for when it counts. 5
George Hirst – Missed an early header then denied his first Scotland goal by two great saves from the Iceland goalie then an offside call after scoring. Showed he’s got some promise. 6
Subs:
Cieran Slicker (Gunn 6) – Debut didn’t go to plan, that’s for sure. Poor kick for the opener, flailing at the second, even worse at the third. Difficult not to feel sorry for him at times. 2
Lennon Miller (Tierney 67) – First cap. 3
Scott McKenna (Hanley 67) – Shored it up a bit late on. 3
Che Adams (Hirst 67) – No chances. 3
Nathan Patterson (Johnston 79) – Replaced Johnston. 2
Tommy Conway (McTominay 79) – On for McTominay. 2
The 22 year-old wasn’t anywhere near ready and needed a couple of minutes to get his gloves and kit on. It was like playing for Scotland was the last thing he was last thing he was expecting.
The pressure he was feeling at that moment must have been huge.
Okay, this wasn’t a big World Cup qualifier. It’s not like Hampden was packed to the rafters.
But still, his nerves must have been jangling.
The defenders in front of him tried to settle him down by giving him a couple of early touches.
But it didn’t seem to do much good.
Because just a few minutes into his debut, he cleared the ball upfield and it went straight to an Iceland player.
And within a couple of seconds Slicker was picking the ball out form the back of the net.
You have to say it was a superb strike from Andi Gudjohnsen from 25 yards, with Slicker nowhere near it.
His anxiety levels didn’t improve much after that with another couple of nervy passbacks and a spilled shot.
Scotland rallied, though.
Striker George Hirst missed a sitter after good set-up play from John McGinn.
But the Ipswich hitman then forced a good save from the Icelandic keeper and that led to the leveller.
John Souttar’s equaliser came from a brilliant Max Johnston corner after 25 minutes which the Rangers defender got on the end of.
Clarke would have relatively hopeful at that point that his star men would grab the game by the scruff of the neck and go from strength to strength.
But it soon went from bad to worse.
Because Iceland’s second goal, just moments before half-time, was another calamity.
It was a decent corner into the box.
But the ball hit off Souttar and then Lewis Ferguson before Slicker seemingly dived right over the top of it.
On another night the off-side flag could have gone up and spared the boy’s blushes. But he wasn’t that lucky.
Had Clarke decided to substitute Slicker at the break it would have been an act of mercy.
It was almost crueller keeping him out there.
Seven minutes into the second half and the Scotland boss must have wished he had.
The third goal painful viewing.
The way Slicker tried to slap the ball away when it came his way from a Victor Palsson header was just awful.
The sympathy supporters had for him was in real danger of turning to anger.
But it got worse. The fans were soon ridiculing him.
When the lad collected a routine ball that trundled into his penalty area, there were ironic cheers.
Clarke really did consider putting him out of his misery at that point as he pulled over John Carver for some advice.
But they must have decided it would have been a bigger embarrassment substituting the substitute.
Scotland’s outfield players never gave up, in fairness.
Hirst thought he’d scored in 62 minutes but a VAR check showed he was off-side.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Clarke then did made some changes with Che Adams, Scott McKenna and young Lennon Miller thrown on for the final 20 minutes.
It was a the Motherwell midfielder’s debut but this game won’t be remembered for that.
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