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Your support makes all the difference.Scotland left here last night down but far from out of the reckoning to qualify for Euro 2004. The Germans, whose win assured them of at least a play-off place, can perform a huge favour for Berti Vogts by winning their last game, at home to Iceland, though the Scots must do their bit by beating Lithuania in Glasgow.
Fredi Bobic, briefly a Bolton Wanderer, did the damage, scoring the first goal midway through the first half and winning the penalty that Michael Ballack converted at the start of the second. Neil McCann cut the arrears with the goal of the match, but almost immediately Maurice Ross was sent off, effectively scuppering Scotland's hopes of a draw.
The Scots flew home nursing a sense of grievance over what they saw as Germany's theatrical tumbles. Christian Dailly was so incensed that he accused their opponents of being "diving cheats". Vogts later suggested the remark "should not be taken too seriously" because the defender had spoken "in the heat of the moment".
The Scotland manager reacted with dignity in defeat. Under the banner of the Deutscher Fussball-Bund, whom he served more than 200 times as player and coach, he was careful to offer "respect and congratulations" to his latest successor, the under-fire Rudi Völler.
Nor did Vogts seek to excuse the recklessness of Ross, who had been on as a substitute for only 21 minutes when he was shown a second yellow card and a red. "He shouldn't have made a challenge like that after so little time on the pitch," he said of the Rangers player's lunge at Tobias Rau, who was something of a dying swan throughout.
Asked what he thought of the Swedish referee, Anders Frisk, Vogts added diplomatically: "He had a very hard job. Maybe it wasn't his best game, but it has become very obvious that international football is now a very physical game."
The way Scotland's challenge petered out with 10 men was especially frustrating given that the Germans have come to regard the Westfalen Stadium as a talisman in concrete and steel. Incredibly, with barely 12 seconds played, Scotland claimed a penalty as Steven Thompson fell under a stern challenge by Carsten Ramelow. The referee rightly waved play on but James McFadden was soon testing Oliver Kahn from distance.
However, Scotland's defences were breached in the 26th minute. Rab Douglas, otherwise a model of agility and defiance, parried a shot by Arne Friedrich that looked to be passing just wide. Kevin Kuranyi reacted faster to the loose ball, cutting it back for Bobic to slot in from five yards.
While Douglas swooped to keep out a Bobic header, it was far from one-way traffic. Before half-time, Scotland played Jackie McNamara into the 18-yard area but hesitation meant the chance was lost.
After the break, with the Scots still reorganising following the loss of their captain, Paul Lambert, due to injury, they gifted Germany a second goal. Steven Pressley was caught on the wrong side of Bobic and ended up dragging him down. Ballack stepped up to score from the penalty spot with awesome assurance.
The Scots delivered a stunning riposte on the hour. Thompson, tearing down the right, had only one blue shirt to aim at, but his waist-high cross found McCann, who volleyed past Kahn in a blur from 12 yards. The contest was set up for a storming finale until Ross left the referee with no option other than to banish him just when German nerves should have been jangling.
GERMANY (3-4-1-2): Kahn (Bayern Munich); Rehmer (Hertha Berlin), Ramelow (Bayer Leverkusen), Worns (Borussia Dortmund); Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Baumann (Werder Bremen), Ballack (Bayern), Rau (Bayern Munich); Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen); Kuranyi (VfB Stuttgart), Bobic (Hertha Berlin). Substitutes: Klose (Kaiserslautern) for Bobic, 76; Kehl (Bor Dortmund) for Schneider, 81.
SCOTLAND (4-1-3-2): Douglas (Celtic); McNamara (Celtic), Pressley (Hearts), Dailly (West Ham), Naysmith (Everton); Ferguson (Blackburn); Lambert (Celtic), Cameron (Wolves), McCann (Southampton); McFadden (Everton), Thompson (Rangers). Substitutes: Ross (Rangers) for Lambert, h-t; Rae (Dundee) for McFadden, 53.
Referee: A Frisk (Sweden).
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