TWENTY-first birthdays are not supposed to be remembered the next morning, but every moment of Steven Fletcher's evening will be imprinted on his memory, with the only hangover likely to be the familiar aches and pains from having given everything for the cause.
The Hibs striker has packed a lot into his nascent career and last night arrived another milestone – his full international debut on the day he turns 21.
Like most parties, it got off to a rather uncertain start. The usual worry of whether people
would turn up was eased when a rousing Flower of Scotland identified a decent crowd inside Hampden Park despite the wretched weather. As for what to wear, Fletcher was handed the No11 jersey and told to patrol the left flank by his manager, and what an inspired, if surprising, deployment this proved in the 45-minute outing he was handed.
The Hibs striker injured his back at Ibrox on Saturday and was replaced by Cardiff City's Gavin Rae at half-time, something which will have pleased his manager at Hibs if not many others.
This was the official reason for his withdrawal anyway. There might have been a limousine parked outside the Hampden front door, ready to whisk him off to a nightclub full of friends. If so, then he had plenty to celebrate, although one imagines the impressive young striker was happy simply to savour his first outing in a Scotland shirt and recall the part he played in his side's recovery after the loss of an early goal.
The opening stages saw Fletcher on the fringes, consigned to the edges of his own big night as if beset by party fears. He was not alone in this wallflower act. Scotland struggled to get a touch as Croatia proved why they are reckoned to be among the finest passing sides in Europe. This was made apparent at Wembley in November, when they inflicted the hugely damaging 3-2 defeat on England.
In similar conditions last night, Croatia found the best policy was to shoot on sight. Niko Kranjcar's tenth-minute opener saw the ball move wickedly in the air and leave Craig Gordon stranded. It helped puncture a few balloons around Hampden, but Fletcher was not prepared to let this setback ruin a night that had barely started.
In the 30th minute, he picked up a ball from Gary Naysmith and, though in a position which seemed too deep from which to wreak any damage, managed to thread a ball through to Miller. He was aided by the poor attempt from Croatia to deal with the danger, while the sodden Hampden turf also supplied the ball with some extra zip as it bent into Kenny Miller's path. But if things don't fall for you on your 21st birthday, then when will they?
Fletcher watched Miller supply a fine finish and was the first to hoist him into the air, something which can't have helped his back trouble. It was an epiphanic moment in his young life. The pass, and the vision required to even see it, appeared to confirm that here was a man born for this stage. The harvesting of this destiny has proved far from straightforward, however.
Fletcher's father, a sergeant in the army, died when he was ten, something which motivated his move north of the Border with his Scottish mother. She eventually decided to return south, but Fletcher's eye was already on the prize, and he elected to stay with his uncle in Hamilton. It was his first move down a path which led to last night. It also suggested that he had little intent to pursue his other career option, which was an army life. He was, though, fed rations last night, and aside from setting up Miller was given few opportunities of his own to add to the tally of 14 goals claimed this season.
It was while playing boys' club football in Lanarkshire that he was scouted by John Park, then of Hibs. Fletcher saw out an apprenticeship at Hibs, where he is now contracted until 2013. Even should he reject the rumoured advances from Real Madrid and stay until the end of the deal, he will still only be 26. He has plenty more birthdays ahead of him as a footballer, but last night will live on in his memory.
And even though his first outing might have been for shorter than expected, it confirms his allegiance to Scotland. After the age of 21, a player cannot switch international teams, and with Fletcher having been born in Shrewsbury, England's loss is very much Scotland's gain.
The full article contains 784 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
