Advantage, Scotland. Steve Clarke’s side survived several scares, including an overturned penalty decision, to put themselves in the driving seat to retain their elite Nations League status. Scott McTominay scored from the spot to secure a first-ever victory in Greece – Scotland had lost 1-0 from a penalty on their only previous visit in 1994. The Scots must now make the most of home advantage in the second leg at Hampden on Sunday. They built a platform for themselves in this city of ruins. Homer was on the mind and not because the ancient Greek poet’s Iliad is being read in the courtyard of the nearby Acropolis Museum to celebrate World Poetry Day this week. There was a legitimate fear Tobias Stieler would turn out to favour the home side. After all, the German had been flown in as recently as last month to referee a Greek Super League fixture at this very stadium between Olympiacos and PAOK. The Hellenic Football Federation might be considering asking Stieler to return whatever fee they paid him for that assignment after he awarded a contentious first-half penalty to Scotland. He may have been trying to level things up late on in the second half when pointing to the spot after substitute Taxiarchis Fountas had been fouled by Grant Hanley, which seemed clearly outside the box. The VAR team agreed. Dmitras Pelkas hit the wall with the resultant free kick and Scotland’s reprieve was complete. They must now begin to focus on retaining their lead over Greece on Sunday following a quick turnaround. There were some heavy-legged Scots walking off at the end, no more so than Hanley and John Souttar. The centre-halves, together with 80th-cap winning Craig Gordon, repelled nearly everything that Greece threw at them. And when they couldn’t, a post came to Scotland’s rescue. To say the hosts were unhappy with the referee is an understatement. The Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis is a hostile venue in normal circumstances, as Rangers, who played here in November, can attest. But when fuelled by a grievance, the decibel-level goes up. Murals of various grisly figures adorn the wall outside the stadium identify a forbidding arena. Scotland had done well to tame the home fans in the opening stages with some precise possession football. Greece were content to try to hurt the visitors on the break and came close on a couple of occasions. But Scotland were already in the ascendancy when they went ahead. McTominay might have scored just before the penalty. He steered a loose ball just wide after a goalmouth melee before, just three minutes later, he landed in a heap together with Lazaros Rota. The Scotland midfielder might or might not have received a nick from the right-back, who remained on the turf. Many in the stadium, including those Greek players who surrounded Stieler, protested it had been the other way around – McTominay had been the one who had slipped and fouled Rota. But the referee awarded a penalty and the VAR team of Soren Storks and Benjamin Cortus were happy to let it stand. McTominay sent Kostas Tzolakis, making only his second appearance for Greece, the wrong way to score for Scotland for the first time since against Portugal in Lisbon. Four games without a goal had seemed like a mini-drought for him. Still, his inclusion was one of Clarke’s easier considerations. The manager acknowledged he had been left with a “good headache” due to the welcome return of players, principally Kieran Tierney. The big decisions were not reserved solely for those International Olympic Committee delegates that had gathered in the south-west resort town of Costa Novarino earlier in the day to vote in a new IOC president. Clarke’s own dilemma of where to play Tierney was resolved by leaving him on the bench initially. The Arsenal left-back was among the raft of substitutes warming up midway through the second half as Scotland battled to keep out Greece, who had been given renewed impetus by the arrival of Konstantinos Karetsas at the start of the second half. His deep cross after 67 minutes saw Tzolis strike a post when it seemed easier to score. Clarke had retained the back four that had seemed to suit Scotland so well in last year’s Nations League. He introduced Tierney to the fray after 70 minutes in a bid to stem the flow towards Gordon’s goal although the left back lined up in left midfield after replacing Kenny McLean. George Hirst was brought on for Che Adams to win his first cap at the same time. Scotland were living dangerously. A goal for Greece was chalked off shortly after the re-start because the ball had already gone out. Scotland had initially struggled to get hold of the ball on the well-watered pitch but were leading on the possession count by half time. They ought to have been more than just one goal in front. Adams should have done better when gifted the ball by the goalkeeper. He also rifled a shot just wide shortly afterwards. Greece had been the first to show menace, roared on by passionate home crowd on a chilly night. Anthony Ralston headed clear from Christos Tzolis in a dangerous position at the far post. He made another crucial block soon afterwards. He seems to be aware of the likelihood that his time at right back might be limited given Aaron Hickey’s imminent return, which will leave Celtic’s deputy right back in a position of playing very little football at all. Every minute counts and he played 88 here in his usual committed style before making way for Ryan Porteous. Hanley, meanwhile, played the whole match, including the additional five minutes. It seemed like a super-human effort from him in a country where sporting valour is so cherished. He has been used only as the latest of late substitutes by Birmingham City in recent weeks but he was front and centre of Scotland’s historic night in Greece and deserved to be hailed by the visiting fans at the end.