McLeish: My life flashed in front of me as McFadden pulled trigger

Come the end of the splitsecond biopic, James McFadden had fired the ball wide of Gigi Buffon's gaping goal and a golden moment had slipped through the nation's fingers. Euro 2008 was opportunity lost for Scotland.

'My life flashed before me when Faddy lunged for that chance from Kenny Miller's pass. I really thought then that we were going to Austria and Switzerland,' insisted the manager, who covered his eyes on the dug-out steps as if willing the ball into the net on replay.

'It was the moment of the campaign for us,' claimed television pundit Pat Nevin much later. 'If he had scored there, at 1-1 with 15 minutes left, we'd have been at the Finals next summer.'

The illusion was never to become reality, however, and there was still a twist of the knife to come for a squad that have given the country so much excitement and pleasure over the last 18 months.

Spanish referee Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez has four names. Come the shrill blast of his final whistle, he had quite a few others — all of them unrepeatable.

A shocking decison on the advice of his linesman gifted Italy a lastminute free-kick and Christian Panucci rose to bullet home a header from Andrea Pirlo's pinpoint delivery.

It was a dreadful, agonising end to a thrilling qualification run that could yet have been extended to Kiev in midweek with fingers crossed for an Andriy Shevchenko winner. Then again, nobody does defeat quite like Scotland.

As the players shed tears in the dressing room, around 20,000 fans lingered in the stadium demanding a deserved lap of honour from the players. Finally, they emerged for their mutual thank-yous with the Tartan Army.

This is a squad that definitely put the glorious into failure.

'It was not difficult to persuade the players to go back out,' reflected McLeish later.

'We told them what was happening and, although their heads were down, they really appreciated the reaction of the fans. For that to come after a defeat tells you how well we've done.

'I was worried it could be a damp squib after Italy scored so early. We took a while to settle and it gave Italy a huge lift.

'But we came on very strong for a good spell — as these guys have shown they can do over the course of the section. We should have had the draw. A poor decision turned it for them, even though we should have dealt with the ball into the box.'

Likewise in the opening 75 seconds.

Hampden operates a 'multiple balls system' on these occasions and it would be deeply harsh to blame it on the ballboy who fed the hungry Gianluca Zambrotta as three Scotland players focused on the ball that was still out of play.

Gary McAllister raised it on Sky television, but the kid was no more that 10 or 12 years old.

Rather Alan Hutton, Scott Brown and Darren Fletcher acted like they were still in the primary school team as Zambrotta's quick throwin found Antonio di Natale.

Scotland were caught ball-watching — and the wrong ball, at that. After a seemingly endless build-up to the 'biggest game of our lives', and an early evening kick- off, Scotland simply didn't start until 5.05pm. It felt inexplicable, but it happened and it played right into Italy's hands.

It could have been 2-0, in fact, with Mauro Camoranesi firing over the bar in almost a replica of the move for Luca Toni's goal.

Slowly, Scotland clawed their way back and, arguably, Gonzalez made the first of many wrong decisions when Lee McCulloch lashed in a shot that was goal-bound until it was blocked by Zambrotta's arm.

He was unmoved by the claims and this from a ref who gave Manchester United a penalty against Celtic last season for handball by Shaun Maloney in a not dissimilar incident.

Hutton and David Weir went close with headers before the break. In between, however, Italy were wrongly denied a second goal by a linesman's flag against di Natale for his finish after Craig Gordon brilliantly blocked from Ambrosini.

The same official was involved when Scotland equalised. Hutton was the real architect with a surging run that proved too much for Zambrotta. How the Italian fullback wasn't booked beggars belief.

McFadden's free-kick deflected off the wall and Buffon spilled Lee McCulloch's close-range shot for skipper Barry Ferguson to score his first Hampden goal for Scotland.

He may well have been a fraction offside but the biggest moments in the 'biggest game' were still to arrive on this emotional big-dipper.

Scotland then put together their best move — with six players involved — to feed McFadden on his right foot. Alas, with two or three men in dark blue anticipating a killer cutback, he fired wide.

If that was more than a halfchance, then his next one was gilt-edged. By no means a sitter, especially in the Hampden wind and rain and after an exhausting shift, it still seemed as if a man of Faddy's ability should have scored as he slid in on Miller's inviting square pass.

The 'McFadden Street' banner on display in Glasgow's main shopping thoroughfare, Buchanan Street, may have slipped a few inches in that seminal moment.

'Roy spoke to Faddy after the game and I think he said he saw the net gaping but, in those conditions, it wasn't to be,' sighed McLeish.

Worse was to follow. Naysmith could well have had a foul just seconds before the incident between Hutton and Azzurri substitute Giorgio Chiellini. But the decision against Hutton was quite shocking.

'It was unbelievable he gave them a free-kick for that incident,' said an exasperated McLeish.

'I've seen it on television from three or four angles and it is a definite foul for Scotland.

'It is nothing the Italians didn't do the whole game — getting their bodies between their opponent and the ball.

'Hutton was in control of the ball, he puts his body between man and ball, and their player barges right into him. I'm thinking: ''Surely not?''

'I felt there were examples of 50-50 challenges throughout the game that always went in Italy's favour.'

It is too much to suggest the Spanish officials became Italy's 12th man. Yes, they contributed to the winner, but poor defending cost Scotland badly for that early opener.

Two defeats in the final two qualifiers ultimately carried an enormous price. In the end, beating France twice and three away wins was not enough.

But, after watching the Italians roll around, fall over and shake hands with the referee to waste even more precious time when substituted, it still feels better to be Scottish. Honestly.

And it truly was great fun while it lasted