As we traipsed onto the bus heading towards Hampden on Saturday we were greeted with spew bags on our seat, little did I realise it was to be an omen for the day as a late Michal kadlec penalty to make it 2-2 was a real sickener, and left a horrible taste in the mouths of Scottish fans up and down the country.
It was a tale of two penalties; one given and one not. Dutch referee Kevin Blom left the hosts seething as substitute Jan Rezek – who was still lucky to be on the pitch after lunging in recklessly not once but twice within seconds of each other midway during the second half – made the most of a Danny Wilson stuck out leg and fell to the ground – his dying swan act enough to convince Blom that it merited a penalty.
Kadlec converted the spot-kick sending it high into the roof of the net giving Allan McGregor no chance and all but ending Scottish hopes of reaching the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine in 2012 barring a minor miracle.
But in the dying seconds the hosts could and perhaps should have had a penalty of their own – given the softness of spot-kick awarded moments before. Defender Christophe Berra managed to wriggle free of the visitors defence before Roman Hubnik unwisely stuck out a leg - a move that had been ruthlessly penalised in the opposite box previously. But to the bewilderment of at least 50,000 fans and millions more watching at home, the whistler from Holland accused the Wolves defender of diving.
It is sort of the decision that leaves fans, players and managers incensed because of the inconsistency of the awards given. And once again calls for some sort of technology to be introduced into the game.
But no qualms about the result on reflection a point was fair as the Czechs controlled large periods of the match. The two goals that Scotland did score were defensive errors and should have been dealt with but it would have mattered very little had Milan Baros taken his early opportunity and Charlie Adam had not escaped punishment for a rash challenge in the box on the aforementioned striker, indeed they could have been out of sight with only 15 minutes played.
However, the Scots grew in confidence after their initial early scare but as has been the case with most games this European Qualification campaign rarely ever troubled the opposition goalkeeper. Looking at shots on target to goals ratio this tournament Scotland have converted 40% of their chances an incredibly high rate compared to the opposition yesterday who have a 22% success rate.
The stat suggests that Scotland do not create that many chances but when they do they usually take them. That certainly was the case yesterday as against the run of play the Scots went up 1-0 through Kenny Miller just before half-time. Darren Fletcher played an incisive pass through to the Cardiff City striker and his effort was poorly dealt with by stand in keeper Jan Lastuvka who let the ball squirm under his foot before nestling in the back of the net.
It was a lead the hosts barely deserved and the Czechs look confused as to how they were behind. The pattern of play in the second half widely reflected what had happened in the first, the visitors were in control and should have equalised when Tomas Rosicky threaded a ball through to Baros but he put his effort wide.
Miller could have extended the Scots lead when James Morrison put in a wicked delivery but he couldn’t convert the chance.
Then on 55 minutes, Rezek was introduced to play and would have a big impact on the match. His fired cross aided Jaroslav Plasil to bundle the ball home from a few yards out to give the Czechs the equaliser on 78 minutes.
But it was the partnership of Miller and Fletcher again that would lift the hopes of Scotland as the striker pounced on an error by Jan Rajnoch before driving towards goal and playing a perfect weighted pass to the Manchester United midfielder who tucked the ball away with aplomb.
The gamble had looked to have paid off. Fletcher had been sidelined for five months with an unknown virus but manager Craig Levein had no issues about putting him in the starting line-up. However, it was to be the midfielder who was caught spending too much time on the ball which led to the visitor’s equaliser. The 27-year-old was deep in his own half and should have just cleared the ball away to safety but perhaps his match sharpness so late in the game was questionable having being out for so long.
The result all but ends Scotland’s chances – they need to win their last three games including an away tie against the World Champions Spain – a challenge that can’t be overestimated.
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