Armstrong fed Robertson on the left and his cross was poked wide by Dykes. It was a major warning, but Scotland responded immediately. McGinn was bundled over but the referee waved play on, and Jakub Jankto cut the ball back for Schick whose powerful drive was smartly dealt with by Marshall at his near post. Scotland looked crisp in possession and sharp to loose balls, while their opponents took time to settle. John McGinn burgled Tomas Kalas and had a sight of goal on the angle, but the defender recovered quickly to force a corner, which was easily cleared. Indeed it was all Scotland early on, as the Czechs struggled to get out of their own half. Despite this setback, Scotland started brightly with some neat early link-up play between Christie and Robertson nearly fashioning a chance in the opening minutes. Tierney's absence was at first glance a massive deflation for Scottish hopes, given his form for Arsenal this season and his attacking drive from the back. Marshall started in goal ahead of Craig Gordon, while in midfield Callum McGregor missed out on his 28th birthday to Stuart Armstrong, with Ryan Christie preferred to Che Adams as the chief support for Dykes. Scotland suffered a huge blow before kick-with the news that Arsenal defender Tierney was ruled out, as Liam Cooper started in defence alongside Grant Hanley and Jack Hendry. The national anthem was spine tingling - the main concern was whether the Scottish players could channel their emotions into producing a positive result. The years of hurt following numerous failed qualification campaigns were forgotten as the Tartan Army roared their approval at the sight of their heroes during the warm-up, whilst the Czechs were roundly booed. This was the largest crowd to attend a match in Scotland since the suspension of football last March due to Covid-19, and those lucky enough to be present made the grand old stadium rock with noise from over an hour before kick-off. The defeat proved to be a major let down after the raucous build-up, 23 years on from the men's national team's last game at a major tournament. Scotland must now recover and prepare to travel to Wembley to face England on Friday, when the Czech Republic face Croatia at Hampden - but already it looks a difficult task for Clarke's side to qualify for the last 16. The Czechs should have scored more than just two Schick could have had a hat-trick, and Marshall made a stunning save from Michael Krmencik late on, as they cruised comfortably to the top of Group D.

So it’s disappointing but we are ready for the next one.” Clarke said only “hindsight is a wonderful thing” when asked whether his decision to start Lyndon Dykes in attack rather than Che Adams was a mistake.Image: Scotland's David Marshall is beaten by Patrik Schick's long range curling to make it 2-0 to the Czech Republic Had one gone in it could have been a different ending to the afternoon.

I thought we showed good invention and had chances to get back in the game. From there it becomes a long afternoon and a difficult afternoon. Then Jack had another shot which got blocked and fell straight to their striker and he produced a marvellous finish. “We came out for the second half and tried to get back in it. “Our possession was good, we just weren’t quite clinical enough at the right time but the game on Friday will take care of itself. I don’t think there was much between the two sides if you look at our attempts at goal. Sometimes a football match doesn’t go your way and today was that day. “We came here to be competitive and I think we were. “We didn’t come here for a learning experience but obviously if we have to learn lessons from it that’s what we’ll do,” Clarke added. “Kieran has been an integral part of how we have played recently.” He did not appear overly downbeat but admitted his players must be more ruthless in front of goal. “Obviously we have done a lot of work with team shape and Kieran was involved in that,” Clarke said. I was checking where he was standing.”Ĭlarke is hopeful Kieran Tierney, who missed the defeat with a “niggle” collected at training on Saturday, will be fit for Friday night’s meeting with England at Wembley. “I checked in the first half when this situation would come. “I saw him ,” said the Bayer Leverkusen striker. I think rather than looking to apportion blame all the time sometimes you’ve got to credit the goal scorer.” Schick would hardly have improved Marshall’s mood by revealing that he had planned the goal after noticing the goalkeeper’s position. “But in normal circumstances he’s looking to sweep up behind the defence. “Well, if he’d been on his line he would have caught it,” said Clarke of Marshall.

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