Spain smash Scots’ Euro 2012 hopes

Scotland’s absence from international football’s top table was extended to a 14th year last night after they succumbed to a 3-1 defeat by Spain in Alicante while Czech Republic beat Lithuania 4-1 in Kaunas.

It was a combination of results which snuffed out Scots hopes of reaching Euro 2012, relegating Craig Levein’s side to third place in qualifying Group I, with Czech Republic leapfrogging them into the runners-up spot behind Spain, the runaway group winners. It is the Czechs who will now go into tomorrow’s play-off draw in Krakow as they seek to claim one of the four remaining places at next summer’s European Championship finals in Poland and Ukraine.

For Scotland, it was a deflating end to a mediocre campaign. It is 1998 since they last reached the finals of a major tournament and their hopes of arresting that long period of decline were effectively ended after five minutes of action. Just as news was filtering through of a goal for the Czechs in Kaunas, Scotland were undone by a goal from David Silva.

The Manchester City man was to be Scotland’s tormentor-in-chief, adding a killer second just before half-time before playing in David Villa for the third nine minutes into the second half.

Scotland substitute David Goodwillie reduced the deficit with a 65th-minute penalty after Craig Mackail-Smith had been brought down by Spain goalkeeper Victor Valdes. The goal lifted the thousands of Scots supporters inside the Estadio Jose Rico Perez and prompted the visitors into their best spell of the match.

It wasn’t enough, however, and the world and European champions saw out the match in relative comfort.

Scotland are left to reflect on an eight-game qualifying programme which yielded just three wins, two of which were against Liechtenstein by a single goal. It’s a meagre return by any standards and Levein will doubtless rue two matches against the Czechs which produced just a point. A 1-0 defeat in Prague a year ago will forever be associated with Levein’s decision to play without a striker in a 4-6-0 formation which attracted widespread derision. The return match at Hampden last month saw the Scots dealt a crushing late blow when the Czechs snatched a controversial penalty at the death to claim a 2-2 draw. It was a clear dive by Jan Rezek which won the spot-kick and there was a certain irony that it was the Czech striker who scored his country’s second and third goals in Lithuania last night to finally drive the nail into the coffin of Scottish hopes.

Czech Republic had opened in the scoring after five minutes in Kaunas through a Michal Kadlec penalty after a foul by Andrius Skerla on Milan Baros. Rezek doubled the lead 30 minutes later and added his second on the stroke of half-time. Lithuania pulled one back through Darvydas Sernas but a second Kadlec penalty sealed a comfortable win for the Czechs and a place in the play-offs. For Scotland, thoughts now turn to the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign as they face up to another summer tournament at which they will be mere spectators. It is now seven tournaments in a row for which they have failed to qualify.