Scots on high as McFadden gem settles it

There have been numerous occasions in past, failed campaigns when countries of equally moderate status as Lithuania have proved to be embarrassing banana skins for the men in dark blue.

But this time, under manager Alex McLeish, they have given the Tartan Army the conviction that they can survive in a group where France and Italy are still favourites to make it through to the finals.

The Scots travel to Paris and a meeting with France in the Parc des Princes on Wednesday with their confidence justifiably high. They defeated Thierry Henry and that country's outstanding talents 1-0 at Hampden a year ago, so a draw in Paris would maintain their position as genuine contenders. A win — there's no limit to Scotland's expectations now — in these circumstances would install them as the country in a position to split the big two.

This was a desperately close affair despite Kris Boyd's headed 31st-minute opener. For Lithuania equalised with a contentious penalty 30 minutes later even though TV replays seemed to prove that skipper Darren Fletcher had made no contact whatsoever with substitute Saulius Mikoliunas to concede the spot-kick converted by skipper Tomas Danilevicius.

Defender Stephen McManus epitomised the determination rippling throughout this Scotland team when he forged forward and used his left knee to give his side the lead once again in the 77th minute.

And when substitute James McFadden, who had replaced Gary Teale, produced a gem of a strike with a 20-yard left-foot shot in the 83rd minute, it was all over to the considerable delight of the Hampden crowd, who will begin the Tartan invasion of Paris within the next 24 hours.

Boyd's goal was greeted with a roar of relief as much as delight. The Scots had dominated the Lithuanians; they had pressed them, they had created chances but far too often these opportunities had come to nothing.

That is a dangerous game. To dominate and not score is to leave the door open and there were occasions when Lithuania proved capable of exploiting any lapses and chances that came their way.

The danger came from set pieces and in the 14th minute a shot from Mindaugas Kalonas flashed past goalkeeper Craig Gordon's right-hand post after a short free-kick had been blocked, but not properly cleared.

McLeish had warned his players about the danger of complacency and, to be fair to them, they produced a performance that had the right tempo and the proper attitude.

They should have scored in the 18th minute when a corner from Fletcher was headed first by Boyd only to be blocked by goalkeeper Zydrunas Karcemarskas.

The ball rebounded to Lee McCulloch who headed goalwards only for Karcemarskas to palm the ball away. Boyd's goal came from a brilliantly-taken free-kick by Fletcher. The Manchester United player had spotted his team-mate's availability and as Boyd ran forward, shadowed by a defender, he was able to power the ball into the net.

To concede an equaliser later was bad enough but Scotland felt cheated on this occasion. After Fletcher's attempted tackle on Mikoliunas, the penalty was awarded. Scotland felt it was a serious misjudgment.