DEFIANT Steve Clarke tonight admitted Scotland had been outplayed by Ukraine in their Qatar 2022 play-off semi-final at Hampden - but insisted his side had improved during his tenure and Euro 2024 qualification is a realistic target.
Clarke’s team fell two goals behind to Oleksandr Petrakov’s side after less than an hour in the rescheduled Path A encounter against the war-torn rivals.
They fought back and levelled through Callum McGregor with 11 minutes remaining – but a missed John McGinn sitter in the second-half ultimately proved costly.
They were caught on the counter attack at the death and conceded a third when substitute Artem Dovybk netted with what proved the last kick of the game.
Clarke admitted the best team had won the match – but he insisted that his men were continuing to improve and would challenge strongly for a place in the Euro 2024 finals in Germany.
He said: "The best team won the game. It’s disappointing for us as you say, but sometimes the opposition play better and that was the case tonight.
“I knew they’d be well prepared. They are a good team so that’s what we expected. But we didn’t pass the ball well enough in the first half and that was also credit to the way Ukraine pressed us. We couldn’t really get out.
“So I decided to make a change at half time to try to address that - to put another midfield player on the pitch and play through the lines - but before we had a chance to play we were two goals down. From there it was a long way back.
“In the first-half we didn’t play as we can play. But in the second half, at 2-0 down, we did get a foothold in the game. We started to make some chances.
“John missed a big chance and if we had made it 2-1 with 30 minutes to go then maybe you can have a little bit more composure as you chase the game.
“If you score quite late it becomes a frantic chase. When it’s frantic the ball rarely falls for you.”
Clarke continued: “The first thing you have to do is you have to suffer together. I’m suffering, the coaching staff is suffering and more than anybody, the players are suffering.
“We’ll have 24 hours where we’ll feel sorry for ourselves. We’ll analyse the game. And then we’ll get back on the horse and go again. What we shouldn’t forget is the progress we’ve made over the last three years.
“We came into this game in really good shape, but it just wasn’t our night.
“I think they are a good team anyway. I don’t think you can talk about the motivation. On the night, they played better than we played. That is just a fact and sometimes that can happen in football."
Asked if he was still optimistic Scotland could qualify for major tournaments, Clarke said: “I am convinced. That’s why it is important we don’t forget how far we have come over the last three years.
“We have to qualify for Euro 2024 and beyond that we have to get to the next World Cup in 2026. This group of players will have more caps, more experience and should be better.
“I have had some low moments. When I first came into the job there were some very low moments. We have left those days behind I think, I really do. We have improved a lot. I am sad, I am sad for the players because we wanted to go to the World Cup together.
“We can’t do that, but we can’t feel too sorry for ourselves. We are work in progress, we want to get better and hopefully they don’t make me out to be a liar and we do qualify for another tournament. Which I am sure we will.”
