This was a beating so bloody and gory that it should probably have been given an X certificate.
Acropolis Now. The night Steve Clarke’s Scotland were gunned down and massacred on home soil while also being brutally disembowled as a member of the Nations League elite.
A punishing, painful and ultimately pride swallowing affair which was no more than Scotland deserved after offering up such an unexpectedly pitiful performance.
Of course Clarke and his players went into this two legged tragedy with the Greeks with plenty of credit back in the bank, having piled it back in the vault on the back of such a thoroughly feeble showing at last summer’s Euros.
But they have come out with the jeers of the Tartan Army back ringing in their ears all over again and, once more, manager Clarke is going to have to find a way of reconnecting his team with its own support.
And he’ll have to do it sharpish too before it blows his chances of bowing out of the job at the next World Cup Finals, with that qualification campaign opening up in less than six months from now.
Clarke may even have to convince some of these fans that he is still the right man to lead the team because some of the decisions he was responsible for last night backfired spectacularly. It was unlike him. It was unlike his team.
And it made for truly horrific viewing all round – and not just for those inside the national stadium.
Come to think of it, it was difficult to decide who was having the worst night. Clarke’s Scotland or BBC Scotland whose production team took forever to work out how to pair up the live pictures with the accompanying audio.
But the truth is Clarke and his players were every bit as out of sync as the broadcasters and the manager has to carry the can for it
The Greeks changed six starters from the first leg. Clarke swapped out only one – Lewis Ferguson – and that was a contentious choice in itself.
Clarke also had just enough thinking time on the flight home from Athens to consider U-turning on his decision to omit Kieran Tierney from his starting XI in the first leg.
But rather than back down, he doubled down.
Of course, there may be long term ramifications from this decision as Tierney will have a great deal to process and consider too now that he’s ready to relaunch his career back at Celtic.
But, quite clearly, Clarke’s only focus was on the here and the now and finishing the job which Scotland started with a 1-0 win on Thursday night, when Tierney was reduced to a second half cameo role from the bench.
He was flung on as an after thought again after 54 minutes last night but when this tie was already a bloodbath.
And when Clarke chose to send him on for Billy Gilmour the Hampden crowd reacted furiously.
Let’s be blunt, Tierney is too proud and too damn talented to be content with playing second fiddle indefinitely. It’ll certainly be fascinating to see how this situation develops over time.
Last night, though, Clarke was clearly focussed on the here and now.
Having opted to make minimal changes he could not resist the temptation to find a place for Ryan Christie at someone else’s expense. It looked like a coin toss between Ferguson and Kenny McLean. But, even so, the smart money was on Clarke’s conservative side getting the better of him. And it did.
Ferguson has already claimed star status with Bologna in Serie A and it stands to reason he will become a mainstay in Scotland’s future. That future felt like now when he stepped into Clarke’s midfield for the first leg.
But, in Clarke’s mind, Norwich man McLean remains the kind of player he can hang his managerial hat on.
So, as frustrated as Ferguson will have been to drop back onto the bench, it probably came as no great surprise to him either. He knew already from personal experience that Clarke can be a tough nut to crack.
And, in fairness to the manager, it actually all started well enough, with Scotland’s heavily manned midfield seizing control of the centre of the pitch.
With the likes of Gilmour, Scott McTominay and John McGinn linking cleverly and Che Adams joining in up top, there was a touch of a swagger about Clarke’s side in the opening half hour, even though they gave up a goal from nowhere after 20 minutes.
Of course it was the wonderkid Konsantinos Karetsas who created it out of the blue, darting down the right and fizzing a cutback for Giannis Konsantelias to pick his spot.
This jolt might have rocked Scotland’s players onto their heels and out of their stride. But it didn’t.
McTominay had already threatened the Greek net on two occasions and the Napoli man could have levelled immediately had he not sliced horribly through a shot from the edge of the box.
Then, in the smoothest move of the half, they broke in numbers over the half way line, popping off passes as they progressed before McTominay fed a defence splitter of a ball into the path of McGinn.
Once again, the net really ought to have been bulging but McGinn hurried a shot which smashed into the torso of keeper Kostas Tzolakis.
And then came another crushing blow as Karetsas fired home a second goal for Greece – and this one was almost comically conceded even if it was no laughing matter.
First Tony Ralston and Ryan Christie failed to prevent the Greeks getting down Scotland’s right. Then, for some reason, Andy Robertson tried to do John Souttar’s job for him and left Karetsas completely unmarked, lurking deep inside Scotland’s box.
From the moment the youngster received the ball the finish was inevitable.
And then, to compound it all, Scotland came out of the tunnel for the second half and gave another one away when Christie’s slack pass sent Greece off and running for Christos Tzolis to slot home a third.
That Scotland and Clarke still had 45 minutes to claw a way back was the only source of consolation.
That they could not muster a decent effort on goal between them merely added to the sense of national hurt and humiliation. It was a Hampden horror show in every conceivable aspect.
Of course, it won’t end up with Clarke getting his gyros. And nor should it.
But if Clarke’s Scotland should be sliced up as badly as this when the serious stuff begins later this year then the entire World Cup campaign may also have to come with a parental advisory sticker.