CZECH REPUBLIC goal hero Patrik Schick says that he noticed David Marshall’s high starting positioning during the first half of the win over Scotland, helping him to lob the keeper from 50 yards for the second goal of his stunning double.

The striker rocked Hampden and dealt a killer blow to the Scots as he picked up the ricochet from Jack Hendry’s blocked shot and immediately curled a long-range effort over the desperately retreating Marshall and into the net.

Scotland manager Steve Clarke refused to blame his number one after the match, but when asked if he had noted Marshall’s advanced positioning, Schick replied: “Yeah. I saw him, I checked already in the first half. Maybe when this situation will come, I knew that he would stay very high.

“When the ball came I quickly checked where he was standing and saw he was high.”

The win gives Scotland a mountain to climb in order to qualify for the second phase of the European Championships, and Schick acknowledged that the Czechs also understood the significance of this opening fixture.

“The first game was really important, so we are so happy we won this game,” he said.

“It’s always hard to play against us as we have a lot of hard-working players, so it’s not easy to play against us.

“Scotland was a tough opponent, but we were ready for their tactics.”

The Czech Republic now take on Croatia at Hampden on Friday knowing that a win would take them through to the knockout stages, but while he expects a different challenge from Luka Modric and co, Schick says they now have momentum on their side.

“We know they are a really strong opponent, and we expect a game that will be a little bit different,” he said.

“We will prepare as best we can and then we will see.”