If pride in wearing the national jersey translated into goals, Tommy Conway will weigh in with a barrow load for Scotland.
He may have grown up in and around Bristol – and has the accent to prove it – but his family roots mean a lot when it comes to football.
“I know my grandad will be looking down and he’ll be proud. I had my family at Hampden as well, so overall it’s just a really proud day,” Conway said after making his international debut against Finland in June.
“To play on the international stage for your country is the pinnacle for me.”
It was a match in which he very nearly gained instant hero status. He could – perhaps should – have scored a dramatic, late winner. His header was saved, though, by a superb reflex stop from Viljami Sinisalo, who’s now back-up to Kasper Schmeichel at Celtic.
“I did think it was in for a split second. I’ve obviously hit the goalie and Scott McTominay asked me why I haven’t scored. I said I was just saving it for next time.”
Scotland fans will hope he’s as sharp in front of goal in dark blue as he is with the one-liners.
McTominay and Aston Villa’s John McGinn have found the net regularly for Scotland in recent times. They have had to.
Sourcing a goalscorer has been a problem for several Scotland managers. Could Conway be the answer?
Although Steve Clarke did not play him at Euro 2024, Scotland’s head coach plucked the Taunton-born striker from the under-21 fold and seems to rate him.
“Tommy’s been good around the group,” Clarke said. “I know him quite well. He’s somebody I’ve been watching. He’s slightly different to the type of forward we’ve got in that he’ll try to get off the back of defenders a little bit more.”
So what is it that made Clarke promote from within and made Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough offer him a four-year contract when his Bristol City deal expired last summer?
The obvious answer is goals. Five in 12 appearances for Boro since his switch to the Riverside. Twenty-five in 92 games for Bristol City, whose academy he joined at the age of seven.
Conway’s link to Scotland comes from his late grandad Daniel, originally from Stirling, who used to pick him up from school when his parents couldn’t and take him to training.
Bristol City fans remain proud of their academy product, and Matt Withers is one. A supporter for 50 years, he co-hosts ‘3 Peaps in a Podcast’, a show on which Conway himself has been a guest.
The player has kept in regular touch ever since, and England fan Withers watched Scotland at the Euros in the hope Conway would feature.
“I message him before each of his games to wish him luck and he’ll get back to me afterwards,” Withers said.
“This is a lad who’s grateful for the opportunity he’s got. I’ll be really, really surprised if he’s not playing Premier League football within the next couple of years, with Middlesbrough or another club. He’s got that real drive.”
When it became clear he wouldn’t be signing a new contract with the Robins, it was Middlesbrough who pounced.
And while he has made a good impression on Teesside, there are doubts about him – namely, is he a striker or not?
Mark Drury, lead commentator for BBC Radio Tees Sport, is another Conway fan but cautions anyone expecting Conway to end Scotland’s search for a number nine.
“He thinks he’s a striker but Carrick has been flirting with the idea of converting him into a bit of a number 10, someone who’ll play off the shoulder of the main striker,” Drury said.
“He’s a good finisher, he’s very mobile. He likes to play on the shoulder of the last defender. It’s obvious what he wants: balls in behind the centre-half or Ben Doak getting down the wing and cutting the ball back for him.
“His finishing is excellent and that bodes well for his long-term future. He’s a clever striker and doesn’t let defenders rest.”
While Doak is only on loan from Liverpool, his Scotland teammate Conway has a contract on Teesside until 2028 – and Drury is delighted about that.
“He’s very self-assured and prepared to front up. He’s a very well-rounded character. You don’t know how high his ceiling is. He does need time but there’s a lot of promise there.”
Steve Clarke and every Scotland fan will hope that promise is realised – and that it fires the national side to the next World Cup.
