mccoist magic not enough for scotland published: monday 6 october 2003, 11.10cet
ally mccoist ensured the scots upheld their side of the bargain, but craig brown's side nevertheless narrowly missed out on second spot in group a.
scotland upheld their side of the bargain and came within a whisker of an unlikely quarter-final berth, only to be denied by events elsewhere in group a.
with a solitary point to their name heading into their final fixture in the section, scotland knew victory and a sizeable shift in goal difference was required for them to progress at the netherlands' expense. while ally mccoist's 36th-minute strike set them on their way for the triumph they required, the auld enemy, england, had taken a 4-0 lead against the dutch – craig brown's side were, remarkably, second in the group with time running out. patrick kluivert scuppered their hopes, though, earning the dutch a late consolation which ensured they squeezed through to the last eight on goals scored.
the scots could have found themselves in an even rosier position prior to kluivert's effort had mccoist not spurned two presentable opportunities prior to his goal. it was a case of third time lucky, however, the rangers fc striker beating goalkeeper marco pascolo with a rasping first-time drive from outside the penalty area.
gary mcallister and stuart mccall were an assertive force in midfield and though switzerland rarely looked like working their way back into contention, the scots were unable to add the second which would have put them through on goal difference.
