Defeat, but pride is restored by Smith GLENN GIBBONS Italy 2 Pirlo (35, 85) Scotland 0 Referee: K Vassaras (Gr). Attendance: 41,000 DEFEAT is no cause for celebration, but, in Scotland’s case, the majority of reasonably-minded observers will surely make an exception. If actual partying is pitching it a bit strong, at least a frisson of controlled elation should be permitted on the back of the national team’s performance in Walter Smith’s first match as manager. Anyone who claims to have expected better than a 2-0 loss in Milan - from a match in which a little good fortune might even have yielded a tangible reward - has not been paying attention to the series of desperate performances under Berti Vogts that had left the World Cup squad stigmatised and the populace traumatised. This reversal at San Siro did nothing to further the cause of qualifying for Germany next year, but it did resuscitate the dying hope of witnessing a game in which the Scots would offer unmistakable signs of a revival. In this regard, Smith and his players may be likened to a certain extent to relegation-threatened clubs who produce an improbably creditable (but unsuccessful) performance against Old Firm opposition, but temper the praise with an insistence that the form will be meaningless if it is not repeated in matches against lower-rated opponents. A prime recent example of this would be the predictable utterances of Gordon Chisholm, the caretaker manager of Dundee United, in the wake of his side’s 3-2 defeat by Celtic two weeks ago. The difference between Smith and the club men, however, is that relegation, for the time being, is not an issue. Even if the arithmetic confirms that it is possible for Scotland to reach the play-offs by finishing second to the favourites, Italy, in Group 5, it is impossible to shrug off the conviction that hopes of such an outcome expired as long ago as last autumn, when a paltry two points were garnered from the opening three matches, two at home to Slovenia and Norway and one in Moldova. Smith himself has recognised this reality since before he accepted the offer from the SFA to become Vogts’s successor. It is why he had virtually dismissed pre-event discussion of this match against the Italians in the context of another test in the qualifying series. His emphasis had been almost exclusively placed on the need for an improved level of performance, with the result a secondary consideration. It was an attitude he maintained immediately after the concession of the goals to Andrea Pirlo, whose extraordinary execution of free kicks from considerable distances proved to be the fulcrum of Italy’s victory. Smith also, unsurprisingly, stressed that, whatever credit may be due to his players for a largely gratifying show, it would be rendered redundant by future relapses. The fact that the widely esteemed Italians required two set pieces to secure victory says as much about the redoubtable Scottish defending as it does about any profligacy on the part of the home team. While it would be moronic to deny that the pressure exerted on the visitors by Marcello Lippi’s side in the first half was unrelenting, it was noticeable how few truly golden opportunities were contrived. Robert Douglas appeared to be in sound form before sustaining the groin injury that forced his replacement by Craig Gordon six minutes before the interval. But his work was, by and large, confined to intercepting crosses or effecting competent saves from middle-to-long range shots, mostly from Francesco Totti. The Celtic goalkeeper did appear a little sluggish when Pirlo scored the first of his goals, the 25-yard free kick beating Douglas on his right. It seems reasonable to accept that his injury had a hindering effect on his movement, but Pirlo himself made a rather severe judgment on the goalkeeper. "I didn’t know he was injured," said the impressive Milan midfielder. "But he did give me a very big space to aim at. Douglas made it easy for me and I was surprised at that. But the second free kick, that was a different story." That second goal, the one that made the Scots’ defeat certain, was, indeed, different. Pirlo’s thundering right-foot drive high to the right of Gordon was a mesmerising demonstration of the art. It was not difficult to sympathise with Smith’s view that the Greek referee, Kyros Vassaras, had been over-generous to the Italians when awarding the free kick that brought the opening goal. In his 14 years as a manager, Smith has never shown a proneness to bitching, rather underlining the probability that Vassaras had erred in favour of the home team. But not even the most blinkered kilted chauvinist could reasonably have argued against Italy’s entitlement to a half-time lead. With Gary Caldwell policing Totti and making a pretty competent job of it, David Weir and Steven Pressley coping admirably with the guile and quickness of Antonio and Alberto Gilardino and Jackie McNamara and Gary Naysmith, in the full-back positions, reducing the number of deadly crosses, Smith’s primary objective of establishing a sound defensive base seemed to be accomplished within 30 minutes of the start. But, with the Scotland midfield also pressed into service as auxiliary defenders, there was clearly not the remotest possibility of their troubling Gigi Buffon in the other goal. Going in at the break trailing by one was, in the circumstances, quite acceptable. It was how the Scots performed after, however, that gave rise to the widespread satisfaction with which their appearance at a mercilessly demanding venue was received. The 9,812 Scotland supporters in the crowd (official figure supplied by SFA head of security Willie McDougall) clearly considered the entire occasion to be a demonstrable improvement on their most recent experiences in the World Cup campaign. The captain, Barry Ferguson, and Nigel Quashie both appeared to be flushed with a determination to play further forward, as if making a conscious decision to delegate responsibility for defending the supplying the ball upfield to those nominated for the job. The transformation was sudden and very effective, causing Pirlo, for one, to change his mind about the capabilities of the visitors. "In the first half, Scotland were not very good," he said. "But, in the second, when they began to pass the ball well, they became dangerous opponents and Buffon had to rescue us with a couple of good saves." Accurate and quickly-despatched passes were at the core of the change. Ferguson’s precise chip forward to Kenny Miller, the Wolves striker’s header into the path of Quashie and the Southampton man’s instantly-hit left foot volley forced Buffon into an exceptional save. Ferguson’s next piece of work was quite brilliant, a drilled, incisive through pass that left Miller with only the goalkeeper to beat. The finish lacked conviction, the former Hibs and Rangers player right-footing the ball weakly straight at the legs of Buffon. If Smith’s primary objective was to dispel much of the gloom that had descended on all with an interest in the national team - from the players to the coaching staff, to the besieged administrators of the SFA and through to the supporters - it was achieved with distinction. What happens next, though, will be paramount.