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Hibs midfielder John McGinn was gutted to be left out of the Scotland squad for the England clash – but insists the pain of watching Harry Kane strike an injury-time equaliser hurt more.
McGinn was initially named in the provisional 29-man squad for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier but was among five players who failed to make the final cut.
That allowed the 22-year-old to attend Easter Road team-mate David Gray’s wedding but the highly-rated playmaker admits he was devastated when Tottenham marksman Kane scored a last-gasp equaliser to secure a 2-2 draw and deny Scotland a famous win.
The three-times capped player said: “First and foremost I was honoured to be considered for the game but extremely disappointed, as anyone would be, to miss out and not be involved.
“Like everyone else, I was a Scotland fan and wanted everyone to get the right result.
“I know how hard the group of coaches work to nullify England and big teams in these games.
“But as Leigh Griffiths said, it was one lapse in concentration and it’s cost us and it felt like a defeat.
“When you work that hard to nullify the threat against a team like England you can’t lose focus, it’s easier said than done but when it gets to that stage of the game errors start to become a bit more common.
“When you’ve got players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Harry Kane, if you give them a yard they’ll punish you.”
McGinn caught the dramatic dying stages of the match on a mobile phone during the meal at Hibs captain Gray’s wedding.
The former St Mirren midfielder admits the reception erupted when Celtic marksman Griffiths’ notched two stunning late free-kicks to cancel out Oxlade-Chamberlain’s opener.
Speaking to the BBC Sportsound, he added: “I was at David Gray’s wedding so I missed the first 78 minutes of the game and everyone tells me that was the best way to watch the game.
“The guy next to me at the wedding decided to get it up on his phone and it was more exciting.
“It was in-between the main and desert course so it could not have fitted in better.
“I don’t think Dave’s wife Hayley was too happy at the thought of anyone watching the game.
“When the second goal went in Dave’s mate Steven Brown, who is a huge Scotland fan, let off an almighty roar and everyone was clearly aware that Scotland were winning.
“From that point onwards everyone was crowded round the phone seeing if we could hold on but unfortunately we never.
“We had a great night afterwards but it would have been even better if we had held on.”
McGinn, meanwhile, praised Griffiths’ exploits after the marksman beat England goalkeeper Joe Hart on either side with two free-kicks in quick succession.
McGinn added: “For Leigh to produce two goals like that in such a high pressure game was unbelievable.
“He would have been gubbed, you know the way he plays – he’s a pest.
“He runs about and he’s a wee Duracell bunny up front but his left foot never gets tried.
“You’ve seen him produce goals like that many a time. To do it in a dead-ball situation is unbelievable.”
