Scotland lose 1-0 to Slovakia in Nations League clash

Scotland have been beaten 1-0 by Slovakia in their Nations League match in Trnava.

Jan Gregus scored with a deflected shot after 32 minutes and Scotland were unable to find a goal as their unbeaten run ended at nine matches.

Steve Clarke made eight changes from the side that started on Thursday night when Scotland beat Serbia on penalties to reach Euro 2020.

Though that hurdle had been cleared and many fans were still celebrating, the national team were looking to top their Nations League group and secure promotion to League A, as well as improve their chances of qualifying for future tournaments.

Slovakia had the first clear chance, Juraj Kucka forcing Craig Gordon to save on his return to the team.

Scotland stepped up and carved out a chance for Ryan Christie, who saw his shot saved before Liam Palmer shot over the bar.

Oli McBurnie then had a chance after being picked out by Stuart Armstrong but took to long to act and saw the opportunity go.

The visitors were more than holding their own but found themselves behind just after half an hour had been played.

Gregus was given too much space when he picked up the ball 25 yards out and his smartly-struck shot took a deflection off Kenny McLean and arrowed into the bottom corner of the net.

Palmer and McBurnie both had good chances they failed to make the most of and Scotland were behind at half-time.

McLean forced Marek Rodak to save his net-bound header after the restart but Scotland couldn’t muster an equaliser.

Leigh Griffiths was introduced with Andy Considine going off as Clarke changed the shape of the team and introduced more pace in attack.

Armstrong saw a shot go wide and Scotland kept probing but, after Griffiths saw a powerful shot stopped in the dying moments, time ran out.

Scotland will still top the group if Israel and Czech Republic draw on Sunday evening or if they win in Israel on Wednesday.