Scotland defeated in Georgia

McLeish: Poor result

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Scotland suffered a major blow to their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 when they were beaten by Georgia in Tblisi.

With Scotland needing just four points to secure their route to the finals, they went down 2-0 to a superior Georgia side.

A first-half header from Levan McHedlidze followed by a second-half finish from David Siradze proved too much for Alex McLeish's men to overcome, despite the hosts having to field 17-year-old goalkeeper George Makaridze.

In a toothless display, a weakened Scotland side failed to provide any genuine threat to the Georgia goal and can have no qualms about the end result, which leaves them needing a win against Italy at Hampden Park in their next match.

The game began quietly, with the hosts having the majority of the play, without managing a specific goal threat.

The first real chance came in the eighth minute when Kenny Miller crossed from the left for James McFadden, who hit it just wide with a left-foot finish from the edge of the six-yard box.

Georgia tested the Scots by pushing forward, particularly in wide areas, at every opportunity.

And the hosts' early industry paid dividends on 16 minutes when Levan McHedlidze met a Zurab Menteshashvili corner with a firm header, which flew past Craig Gordon to give them the lead.

Georgia continued to probe as Scotland struggled to gain meaningful possession.

Scotland had a chance to level after winning a corner of their own in the 28th minute but Stephen McManus headed over from James McFadden's cross.

An incident just before the corner was taken saw David Weir go to ground after Georgia striker David Siradze appeared to raise his hands to him but no action was taken.

The game was briefly held up just after the half-hour when a man ran onto the pitch from the crowd but security quickly escorted him away.

Everton striker McFadden, hero of last month's win in France, appealed for a penalty soon after the restart following a collision with Zurab Khizanishvili, but the referee turned him down.

Georgia continued to dictate the tempo and McHedlidze forced a good save from Gordon with a low long-range shot which bounced awkwardly in front of the Sunderland goalkeeper.

Georgia continued to look the more comfortable on the ball as the second half

got under way. But Scotland, without creating much themselves, managed to break up their attacks.

Scotland were struggling to make much headway, and it was not until the 75th minute that Makaridze had a shot to save. However, he dealt comfortably with McFadden's 25-yard free-kick.

McFadden also shot well over when presented with another free-kick 10 minutes from time, and Scotland resorted to long balls as the clock ran down, but to no avail.