From Poland disgusting Scotland late at Hampden to Cristiano Ronaldo doing the same in Lisbon, it was VAR's turn in Zagreb on Saturday evening to put the haunted look back on the faces of Steve Clarke's side.
Point at the end? Praise be! But no. Life in Scotland isn't like that these days. Burnt. Goal ruled out. Failure, again.
From Spain to France, from the Netherlands to Germany, from Portugal and now to Croatia, Scotland's misfortune continues. Call it the Bug Tour.
The end in Zagreb was not quick; it was a slow burn like so many before. A goal in the 100th minute to lose to the Hungarians, a goal in the 97th minute to the loss to the Poles, a goal in the 88th minute to the loss to the Portuguese, a goal disallowed in the 94th minute to the loss to the Croatians.
“Always make the audience suffer as much as possible,” was the mantra of the great director Alfred Hitchcock. Psycho and all that. Life for this Scotland team is one big loop of a shower scene at the moment. Janet Leigh read Tartan Army, screaming in terror as another belated failure burst through the curtain.
These words by Hitchcock could become Clarke's slogan. One win in 15 and even more agony before Portugal's visit to Hampden on Tuesday.
Get ready for something wild. Scotland wins 2-0 when the floodlights go out, the heavens open or a plague of angry birds descends, forcing the players to flee. They are just where they are now. Scotland could try to buy victory, but their card would be discarded.
It was a more than admirable performance, but another one that left Clarke struggling to get his players off the floor. Another narrow defeat that had some encouraging elements but extended the worst run of competitive results in Scotland's history.
A draw would have ended the gloomy feeling that had pervaded this group practically from the moment they qualified for the European Championships, but they were denied the crumbs that Clarke would have turned into a feast.
There's a huge nuance to this, but you get the feeling that for many, any appreciation or understanding of nuance was thrown out the window in Stuttgart when Clarke sent his team to Hungary at the European Championships with caution for the first, second and third attempts of a match they had to win.
The memory of it follows him. This is his shadow. It's a gray cloud over his head. It's the noise you hear at night. Clarke can point to three close fights against quality opposition in three games since Hungary, but some have simply disappeared. I'm not interested. Send us a message when a new manager arrives.
This is what Clarke is fighting against. Cynicism and skepticism. Old friends. They were waiting for him when he first set foot on the job, then he chased them away, and now they're back.
Stripped of an entire team of at least three and possibly five or six players and missing some starters, Scotland showed great resilience. They weren't outclassed. They have not been exceeded.
Luka Modric was rather quiet for 45 minutes and although his influence increased, it was not the Modric performance we had previously seen against Scotland.
Scotland took the lead but then lost it. They fell behind, and then for a few glorious seconds it looked like they were level. The point would be a stepping stone for Clarke. A tangible piece of optimism.
Once again, he was left to talk about positive signs and being on the right path, hoping against hope that his doubters would listen and understand.
There are positive signs and it's easy to say they're on the right track, but that doesn't ease the irritation at the thought of them failing again. Ben Doak joined the team and showed his good side. His pace and fearlessness will be a huge asset. He's still a kid, but he mingled with the men on Saturday and made an impressive contribution.
Scotland's defense was missing their first-choice goalkeeper and probably four players who could have started the game, but they were resolute. There is some hope that a new phase can begin when the cavalry returns.
Add in Aaron Hickey and Kieran Tierney, Scott McKenna and Jack Hendry, Nathan Patterson and John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson and a selection of kids – Lennon Miller, David Watson, Max Johnston and others – and the picture changes.
However, for some, bionic vision may be required to see this future. When you win one game – an ugly one against Gibraltar – in a year, it can be hard to look beyond the present. Clarke is losing followers because of the game. This is the reality. Honorable defeats won't change that.
So let's move on to Hampden on Tuesday and Ronaldo, whose nostrils flared at the thought of getting through to a defense that has conceded seven goals in three games in this group so far. One of them, of course, for him.
We move on to another patchwork team doing everything in their power to defy the odds. The defeats we saw in the Nations League had a completely different tone to those against Hungary in the summer, which was simply disgusting.
On Saturday, Scotland once again tried to play as ambitiously as they could, but it didn't bring the reward their manager was desperately dreaming of.
Clarke will now look to gain an advantage against Ronaldo's boys. He'll have mercy, right?
