Scotland given a reality check

Group B: Walter Smith will take no comfort in being proved right, but Scotland have had their reality check. Group B's only unbeaten record was surrendered last night, Ukraine eventually eroding the visitors' resistance to haul the Scots back within reach of the big guns, Italy and France.

Smith can consider this setback more frustrating than demoralising. The head coach had warned that, so daunting is this group, there would inevitably be "disappointments", but he departed Kiev more concerned at the damage done to long-term prospects.

Scotland had been reduced to 10 by the end, Steven Pressley dismissed for a professional foul on Andriy Shevchenko despite Gary Caldwell trying to cover, and both Darren Fletcher and James McFadden got second yellow cards of the campaign.

This squad can ill afford such losses. "That's what I'm most upset about, not the result," said Smith. "The Pressley decision was the wrong decision. I think Gary was going to get the loose ball so it wasn't a goalscoring opportunity. I think the referee punished Scotland in a different manner to Ukraine throughout."

The inadequacies of the Swedish official merely added to an evening of anti-climax after Saturday's dismissal of France.

In stoppage-time, the debutant Robbie Neilson was penalised ludicrously for a perceived foul on Shevchenko as the striker tried to reach Artem Milevskiy's optimistic cross. Contact was minimal, but the penalty was stroked effortlessly into the net by the Chelsea forward.

For an hour the Scots had threatened to frustrate the World Cup quarter-finalists, whose forays forward appeared to be foundering on Shevchenko's lack of confidence.

Only two minutes after the restart Scotland were exposed, with Shevchenko loitering in the six-yard box. His first attempt was blocked by Pressley, the second scuttled against the post. And the visitors were still wheezing at their good fortune when Shevchenko, alone in front of goal, steered a header wide.

His free-kick on the hour should have posed no problems only for James McFadden to see his clearance charged down. Vyacheslav Svidersky touched the loose ball into the confusion of the six-yard box where Oleksander Kucher stabbed through Caldwell's legs and beyond Gordon.

The Scots were breached and then embittered.

UKRAINE: Shovkovskiy, Nesmachniy, Sviderskiy, Kucher, Rusol, Tymoschuk, Shelayev, Gusev (Milevskiy 62), Kalinichenko (Vorobey 76), Shevchenko, Voronin (Shershun 90). Subs Not Used: Shust, Rykun, Nazarenko, Gay. Booked: Kucher. Goals: Kucher 60, Shevchenko 90 pen.

SCOTLAND: Gordon, Neilson (McManus 89), Weir, Pressley, Graham Alexander, Caldwell, Ferguson, Fletcher, Hartley, Miller, McFadden (Boyd 73). Subs Not Used: Neil Alexander, McCulloch, Teale, Severin, Brown. Sent Off: Pressley (86). Booked: McFadden, Fletcher, Neilson. Att: 55,000.

Referee: M Hansson (Sweden).