CZECHS IN, TARTAN OUT by Tom Lappin

A FEW thousand Jimmy wigs dropped in misery. Scotland's unfeasibly impressive home record took an overdue denting last night as an unexceptional Czech side came away from Parkhead with three points to stretch their Group Nine lead over the horizon.

A first-half own goal from Matt Elliott followed quickly by a clinical finish from Vladimir Smicer slapped a spirited Scotland side in the face. Eoin Jess's second-half goal rallied Scotland's hopes and gave us a stirring finale, but in the end Scotland's lack of an opportunist goalscorer proved vital, as they just failed to rescue a cause they lost in the first period.

At the start, Celtic Park's midfield looked more crowded than the stands, ten players squaring up to each other in the middle, leaving the penalty areas relatively under-populated. Craig Brown had opted for a midfield that combined the cautious with the combative. This was a Scotland, according to the manager, looking for a win, but their line-up suggested a side with a mind not to give anything away - Craig Burley, Paul Lambert and Gary McAllister flanked by David Hopkin and Callum Davidson.

Neil McCann and Eoin Jess were the less than imposing front pairing. Size isn't everything though and McCann in particular demonstrated the potential threat of breaking quickly from solid midfield foundations. Twice in the first five minutes he got behind Michal Hornak down the left, twice his crosses proved just a little too quick for Jess. The lack of a recognised striker getting into the opposing area was being felt from the outset.

McCann might well have opened the scoring himself in the tenth minute, when he thought quickest in the penalty area, hooking a loose ball goalwards and forcing Pavel Srnicek to tip over the crossbar. By comparison with McCann, Vratislav Lokvenc, the Czech striker was a positive man-mountain, and looked correspondingly cumbersome.

For the first 20 minutes, the Czechs were rattled by the swiftness of Scotland's tackling in midfield, and the pace and movement of McCann. The Rangers winger seemed to have the beating of the entire Czech defence, drifting from right to left, winning tackles and setting up opportunities every time he had the ball.

Hopkin headed another cross back across the face of goal, and Srnicek pawed the ball away with McCann looming. In short, it was looking too good to be true. Brutal reality interrupted the party in the 27th minute, as the Czechs took the lead with their first real scoring attempt. Vladimir Smicer won a free kick for a Hopkin foul on the right of the penalty area.

Pavel Nedved's kick bent in wickedly and when Jan Suchoparek got in amongst the defence, the ball struck Matt Elliott and flew past Neil Sullivan into the net. It was a goal against the run of play, and no cause for immediate alarm, yet Scotland committed the cardinal error of letting it upset their concentration.

Nine minutes later, when Smicer latched on to a Nedved pass inside the Scottish area, the defence was culpable, leaving him with plentiful space and time to steer the ball precisely past Sullivan and in off the far post. Suddenly, a game that had started so promisingly began to look beyond Scotland. The goals gave the Czechs the confidence to start playing.

Patrick Berger played adelightful through pass, that almost sent Smicer clear through the middle of the Scotland defence. The Czechs might have had a third goal just before half-time when Nedved hit a free-kick low around the Scotland wall, and Sullivan had to get down quickly to gather the shot.

Things were looking decidedly ominous by the end of the first half and the Czechs started the second period still looking the likeliest scorers. They should have extended their lead just before the hour. McAllister gave the ball away to Berger on the halfway line, the Liverpool midfielder sprinted forward and released a pass to Vratislav Lokvence, who slid his shot wide when it seemedeasier to score.

Berger kept the Scots nerves jangling five minutes later, when he flashed a 20-yard left-foot shot wide of the goal. Significantly they could not find the goal that would kill Scotland's resistance. On 50 minutes, Brown had replaced Davidson with Allan Johnston, but another tricky wide player was hardly going to be the catalyst for a Scotland comeback.

The problem was underlined when McCann once more turned Hornak, and swaggered through the Czech half, tricking his way into the penalty area, and in the absence of any support hit a weak cross-shot that just begged to be turned in at the far post. Scotland urgently needed another striker through the middle. When McAllister made way for Don Hutchison, they at last had one, and the Scots began to commit more and more resources to attack.

Most obviously Hutchison provided some height. It proved immediately effective, as Scotland grabbed a lifeline in the 69th minute. The Everton man was the distraction at a long throw from David Hopkin out on the left. As Hutchison and Weir challenged, the ball was knocked towards the far post where Jess was able to stoop and head home from close-range.

As Scotland galloped forward in search of a second, Berger again had the opportunity to deliver the coup de grace, slipping through the defence, but poking his shot past Sullivan but wide of the post. Scotland were prepared to gamble though, with a point and a proud home record at stake. They might even have saved that point five minutes from the end when Hutchison headed a free-kick back across goal, Weir stole the ball from Srnicek's fingertips but was unable to turn it in.

When Hutchison headed just over in the last minute the Czechs were hanging on desperately. But hold on they did, and that is all the final table will tell you.

Scotland: Sullivan, Weir, Boyd, Lambert, Elliott, Davidson, Hopkin, Burley, Jess, McAllister, McCann. Subs: Gould, Whyte, McNamara, Durrant, Johnston, Hutchison, Ritchie.

Czech Republic: Srnicek, Votava, Suchoparek, Nedved, Hornak, Hasek, Nemec, Poborsky, Lokvenc, Smicer, Berger. Subs: Vlcek, Baranek, Koller, Cizek, Postulka, Kuka, Rada.

Referee: K Milton Nielsen (Denmark)