Scotland's Euro 2016 qualification hopes were dashed on Thursday night as they were held to a 2-2 draw by visiting Poland, while the Republic of Ireland were also able to clinch a vital win over Germany in one of Group D's other fixtures to confirm Gordon Strachan's misery.
The Scots' evening appeared at one point to be heading for something memorable following standout efforts from Matt Ritchie and Steven Fletcher, before Robert Lewandowski completed a brace in injury time to earn a late point for the visitors.
Here, Sports Mole provides an analysis of the action at Hampden Park.
Match statistics
SCOTLAND
Shots: 10
On target: 3
Possession: 44%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 12
POLAND
Shots: 13
On target: 4
Possession: 56%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 7
Was the result fair?
Scotland played remarkably well for much of the game after going behind early on, but they suffered at the hands of a late goal that perhaps served as an indicator for exactly just how frustrating their qualification campaign has proven at times. Strachan's men looked menacing when going forward in the encounter and they will be distraught at not being able to hold on for all three points.
The Republic of Ireland's victory over Germany made this result redundant for the Scots, but they will nevertheless be irked that they threw the game away by going to sleep during a set piece deep into injury time. Applause must go to Poland, however, given that they kept going until the death to earn a point going into a decisive final game on Sunday.
Scotland's performance
Other than the opening and closing few minutes of the contest, Scotland put together what should have been a match-winning performance. The hosts kept their heads after going behind early on to produce some of their best football of recent times. Two standout goals from Ritchie and Fletcher had them on course to win this game, and they appeared to have things sewn up at the back until they let slip to the last kick of the match. Strachan's men put together some standout attacking moves in both halves and might have kept their hopes alive on another night.
This kind of result has plagued the Scots during qualification and it is perhaps of no particular surprise that they have somehow fluffed their lines at the crucial moment. What might soften the blow, however, is that Germany lost out to the Republic, which in turn gave Scotland ultimately no real hope regardless of the outcome of this game.
Poland's performance
Adam Nawalka will be bitterly disappointed that the White Eagles could not build from a lead that was garnered in just three minutes of football at Hampden Park. For the first 10 minutes of the contest, it looked as though Poland would run away with a victory to secure progression to France next summer. As it stands, they will now face a crucial clash against Ireland on Sunday and could still end up in third place and might have to compete for qualification through a testing playoff match. The visitors lost much of their first-half spark, but they must get some sort of recognition for how they managed to hang on in the game and grab the leveller right at the death.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Robert Lewandowski: The Bayern Munich man was in and out of the contest, but was able to provide the goods at the crucial moments in Scotland. The frontman showed brilliant composure to give his side the lead in the opening minutes, before being able to keep his concentration and react first in order to slide home and seal a point for his side during injury time. Scotland's Fletcher and Steven Naismith were equally good, although Lewandowski clearly created the most important lasting impression given the outcome of the match.
Biggest gaffe
Naismith produced a brilliant performance on home soil, but he might want to forget his missed chance early in the second half. The Everton playmaker did well to meet his marker at the back post with the scores level at 1-1, only to somehow clear the ball off the line instead of turning his effort into what would have been an almost-empty Poland goal.
Referee performance
Hungarian official Viktor Kassai had very little to do despite the pressure of this decisive clash in the penultimate round of fixtures. Kassai had to dish out four yellow cards across the course of the game, all of which appeared deserved. The referee made his intentions clear early on and had a fairly uneventful evening as a result.
What next?
Scotland: The Scots now have no hope of gaining that third-place playoff spot, which will be contested by Poland and the Republic of Ireland on Sunday. Scotland will come away from this encounter ruing the cost of a host of mistakes across the qualification period.
Poland: Nawalka and company now face the Republic on Sunday competing for automatic qualification. Both sides share 18 points and whoever is able to eke out a win in the final fixture will be able to march to France without having to compete in the playoff round.
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