Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon admits he is hoping performances like the one he delivered against Inverness will aid his bid to earn a Scotland recall.
The 37-year-old, playing in his first competitive match since December 2019, produced an outstanding point blank save at the start of the game to deny Daniel Mackay.
The former Celtic and Sunderland shot-stopper did not put a foot wrong all night in his second debut for the club as Robbie Neilson’s side went on to win the game courtesy of Jamie Walker’s controversial penalty.
However, with Gordon being short of competitive match action due to the start of the Championship season being delayed until October 17, Scotland manager Steve Clarke has overlooked the shot-stopper for his last two squads.
But Gordon insists he will not give up on his desire to add to his 54 caps.
He said: “I’ll try and do the best I can for Hearts and if I get the chance to get back in the Scotland squad then I’d be absolutely delighted.
“All I can do is perform well; it was a good start against Inverness, a clean sheet,
“I made a few decent saves so I was happy with that and we’ll see what happens in the future.
“It was good to get back playing, it’s been a while, been a while for everyone really with everything that was going on, everyone was in the same boat.
“It was their first competitive game for well over 200 days for a lot of these players. It was a hard fought victory, we had to go right to the end.”
Despite not having been involved in a competitive game for ten months prior to the visit of Caley, Gordon dispelled any concerns he may have had about being ring-rusty with his stunning save.
Speaking to BBC Scotland, he added: “It was one of my first touches of the ball, the cross came in and the striker flung himself at the ball and managed to get it towards the goal.
“I flung up my left hand, managed to get the ball up in the air and then got the rebound.
“It was a good one, I’m very happy to do that and contribute to the team.
“I had played a lot of pre-season games but they’re not as competitive, that’s always in the back of everyones’ minds.”
