Scots swept aside by Dutch

Scotland will have to set their sights on a play-off spot after suffering a 3-0 defeat in Holland.

Defensive lapses cost Burley's side dear

Scotland will have to set their sights on a 2010 World Cup qualifying play-off spot after suffering a 3-0 defeat at Group Nine leaders Holland. The Dutch maintained their 100 per cent record by capitalising on shoddy defending from the Scots, with George Burley's side now eight points adrift of top spot. Kenny Miller had a golden chance to give Scotland an early lead at the Amsterdam ArenA, but the striker dwelt too long on the opportunity and Joris Mathijsen produced a fine saving tackle. The visitors fell behind on the half-hour mark when Mark van Bommel swung in a cross from the right and Klaas Jan Huntelaar headed home unmarked at the far post. A failure to pick up players cost Scotland a second goal in first-half injury-time as Robin van Persie darted in to meet Arjen Robben's corner from close range. Scotland thought they had pulled one back on 74 minutes when Gary Caldwell powered home a corner, only for the referee to chalk the goal off, presumably for a foul on Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg which left the visitors baffled. And just three minutes later, Dirk Kuyt swept home a third goal from the penalty spot after Huntelaar had been brought down by a clumsy challenge from Christophe Berra.

Asserted

The Dutch asserted themselves immediately and it promised to be a long night for the visitors. It took Holland six minutes to get a shot away and Huntelaar's drive from the edge of the box, after he had been set up by Robben, took a deflection before it bounced harmlessly through to keeper Allan McGregor. Moments later, Van Persie mis-kicked from 10 yards out but in the 11th minute Scotland squandered a great chance to take the lead. Miller beat the offside trap to race on to Darren Fletcher's through-ball but the Rangers striker hesitated too long before shooting and Mathijsen recovered to put in a saving tackle, with the Scots not even getting the benefit of a corner. Scotland's 4-1-4-1 formation looked relatively tight and compact although there was more than enough menace any time that Holland broke. In the 27th minute Robben, the most impressive Dutch player, skipped past Scott Brown and Caldwell with McGregor coming to the rescue by blocking the cut-back with his foot for a corner. The Scots survived the set-piece but the respite lasted only for a few moments as the home side eased ahead in the 30th minute, through Huntelaar who grabbed a simple goal. When Van Bommel's searching cross from the right reached the back post, the former Ajax frontman got in behind Caldwell to steer his header back across McGregor and into the net. The goal deflated the Scots and all hope was gone seconds before the interval when Van Persie headed in a Robben corner from close range, with little hindrance from the Scottish defence.

Damage limitation

Damage limitation might have been high on Burley's agenda as he sent his players out for the second half. Holland re-asserted their authority immediately, pinning Scotland back and the Mexican wave from the Oranje fans showed how little tension they thought remained in the game. In the 50th minute, after more fancy footwork from Robben to set him up, Kuyt came close with a right-footed drive which appeared to take a deflection before sneaking just past McGregor's right-hand post. Scotland defended that corner with more determination and, with Ross McCormack swapping flanks with Gary Teale, they slowly tried to find a way back in to the game. But on the hour mark it was McGregor who had to stretch to his right to grab Robben's curling effort from the edge of the box after he had linked well with Huntelaar. Caldwell had the ball in the net from a McCormack corner in the 74th minute but referee Duhamel mysteriously and controversially ruled it out and the Scots were punished further three minutes later when they went three behind. After Berra had conceded a penalty by felling Huntelaar in the box, Kuyt sent McGregor the wrong way with his spot-kick to leave Scotland looking to Wednesday's game against Iceland to get their qualification campaign back on track.

Netherlands	Team Statistics	Scotland
3	Goals	0
2	1st Half Goals	0
4	Shots on Target	0
5	Shots off Target	2
7	Blocked Shots	0
6	Corners	4
15	Fouls	10
3	Offsides	2
2	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
84.5	Passing Success	69.8
24	Tackles	16
79.2	Tackles Success	87.5
67.3	Possession	32.7
51.6	Territorial Advantage	48.4