09 October,2010 08:20 AM IST | | PA Sport
Craig Levein's decision to drop Kenny Miller and play a defensive line-up failed to pay off as Scotland suffered the first defeat of their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign against Czech Republic in Prague last night.
The manager opted for a formation designed to frustrate their hosts and hopefully return home with at least a draw to add to the four gained against Lithuania and Liechtenstein.
The Scots held out for 69 minutes before Roman Hubnik grabbed the only goal of the game to hand the Czechs their first victory in the section, and Levein's men must now pick themselves up ahead of the visit of Spain next week.
Michal Kadlec of Czech Republic celebrates after his
teammate Roman Hubnik (unseen) scored during the
EURO 2012 qualifying match against Scotland yesterday.
Pic/AFP
The build-up to the match had been dominated by headlines about Levein's decision to axe Miller, with the Scotland boss furious the news was leaked before he had named his team.
The Rangers striker has been in fine form this season but had to settle for a place on the bench instead, along with Phil Bardsley who was called into the squad after switching allegiance to the Scots.
Levein received an injury boost ahead of the match, with goalkeeper Allan McGregor, Alan Hutton and Steven Whittaker all passed fit, while QPR's Jamie Mackie made his national team debut after being called up to the squad for the first time.
The Czechs had a chance to apply some early pressure when David Weir fouled Tomas Necid 25-yards out but Lukas Magera's free-kick failed to get past the wall, as around 8,000 Scotland fans breathed a sigh of relief.
Steven Whittaker was booked for a foul on Tomas Rosicky after just 13 minutes, before Necid went to ground in the box claiming he had been tripped by Stephen McManusu00a0-- but pleas for a penalty were ignored.
Necid then earned himself a caution for diving after throwing himself on the turf just outside the area less than a minute later.
