International Friendly - Denmark 1 Scotland 0: Scotland have fallen so adrift of Europe's leading football nations that there is always a temptation for Berti Vogts to search for a consoling feature.
After another chastening experience he can tell himself that Darren Fletcher was arguably the game's outstanding player, but the Manchester United midfielder's display - described by Vogts as "fantastic" - is unlikely to spare Scotland's manager another round of hostile headlines.
His team have lost six of their past seven matches outside of Scotland and, though he can hardly be blamed for what has gone before him, they have not managed a goal against Denmark in five outings since 1975.
Despite Fletcher's best efforts and a lively performance by James McFadden, they seldom threatened to end that undistinguished record last night, when Denmark should have done better than the solitary goal from Ebbe Sand, a second-half substitute.
Vogts will point to several mitigating factors, not least eight withdrawals, and it is a measure of the upheaval that has accompanied his two years in charge that when the substitute Peter Canero joined another newcomer, Malky Mackay, on the pitch he became the 33rd player to be awarded a debut under the German. At 32, Mackay was also Scotland's oldest debutant for 37 years.
An early injury for Gary Holt, who left the pitch on a stretcher with a badly gashed knee, represented another setback, but the truth was that Vogts's players seldom matched a neat and industrious Danish side.
It needed some lethargic defending, however, for the Danes to conjure the winning goal. Stephen Crainey allowed Jesper Gronkjaer too much time to deliver a cross from the right and Vogts is entitled to be disappointed by the manner in which Sand beat Steven Pressley to the ball.
DENMARK: Sorensen; Helveg, Henriksen (Kroldup, 66), Laursen, N Jensen (Sennels, half-time); D Jensen, C Jensen (Sand, half-time), Wieghorst (Retov, 81); Gronkjaer (Rasmussen, 83), Jorgensen (Rommedahl, 66); Tomasson (Perez, half-time). Subs not used: Nielsen, Priske, Skov-Jensen, Andersen, Madsen.
SCOTLAND: Gallacher; G Caldwell, Pressley, Mackay, Crainey; Cameron (McCann, half-time), Fletcher, Dailly, Holt (Canero, 17); Kyle, McFadden. Subs not used: Gordon, S Caldwell, Miller, Alexander, Thompson, Webster, McNamee, Marshall. Booked: McFadden.
Referee: M Ingvarsson (Sweden); S Johannesson, Sweden, half-time).
Guardian Service
