Scotland 0 – 1 Morocco

Scotland’s hopes of making World Cup history against Morocco were hit by at least one penalty.

Steve Clarke’s side knew victory would secure a place in the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time, but they were pounced after just 70 seconds.

Grant Hanley was caught out and Ismail Saibari took advantage with a clinical strike into the top corner. He nearly made it two as the Scots struggled to find their footing at the Boston Stadium.

John McGinn appealed for a penalty shortly after the restart after being brought down by Neil El Aynaoui, but it was deemed a fair challenge.

Scotland should have been level just after the hour, but Ryan Christie fired the ball over the crossbar after a great set-up from Scott McTomin.

There was further penalty controversy when Napoli midfielder El Ainnou went down for another questionable challenge. But, again, the appeal is waved away.

“I don’t think it’s a punishment,” said Sky Sports’ Roy Keen on ITV. “I think he wants to go down.”

McTominay and Lyndon Dykes went on late, but Scotland finished the match without a shot on target.

They need to take something against Brazil on June 24 to have any chance of improvement.

VOTE: Should Scotland have had a penalty… or two?

Moments in Boston…

• 2: Goal! Saibari’s superb finish gives Morocco the lead.

• 10: off! Saibari knocks home two inches away.

• 35: Big chance! Cybari releases El Khans into the box, but it’s on target.

• 45+1: First chance Scotland! Patterson’s ball misses everyone and McGinn meets it on the volley but sends it high and wide.

• 49: Penalty? McGinn was brought down by El Aynawi. The referee deemed it a fair challenge.

• 64: Chance! Christie has space to strike from 20 yards but fires away.

• 82: Penalty? McTominay was brought down by El Ainao, but the penalty appeal was waved away.

• 85: Chance! McTominay and Dykes go around.

• 88: Chance! McGinn gets a shot away but Riyad makes a great challenge there.

Analysis: Penalty kick, but did Scotland do enough?

It was a nightmare start for Scotland and they took too long to recover from.

That first injury meant Plan A fell apart and Scotland never really seemed to have a Plan B for the rest of the first half.

Once they settled down, chances arrived and moments in the second half provided some encouragement ahead of their final Group C match against Brazil.

One, maybe two calls for a penalty and the debate, particularly around the challenge on McTominay, will continue.

Yes, we can blame the decision for the defeat but Scotland couldn’t manage a shot on target.

It was a pointless performance against Haiti, more needed against Morocco.

Scotland’s dream isn’t over but Miami will need a huge improvement and a quick start.

What does the result mean?

Clarke: Scotland ‘ready to go again’

Scotland head coach Steve Clark Speaking to BBC Scotland:

“I thought we were good. The start was terrible but the response was good. We had to dig in for five or 10 minutes to get into the game.

“Once we were in the game, we showed we could cause them problems. The disappointment would be that we couldn’t create a clear chance that would have got us points.

“This group of players, this squad, has shown a lot of (resilience) over the years. They’re there, they’re flat, frustrated, but we’ve got another chance.

“Everyone’s talking about Scott McTominay (the penalty incident). I actually looked at John McGinn, which was 50-50. Some referees would give it, some wouldn’t. Sometimes VAR would get involved.

“This team is ready to go again. We are here to try and do what no Scottish team has done before. We gave everything tonight, and we will try again.”

Christie: Scotland will be back

Scotland Midfielder Ryan Christie Speaking to BBC Scotland:

“If we had played five more minutes, maybe we would have got them.

“It’s disappointing. The start of the game wasn’t exactly the way we planned. It would have been easy to chase the game and fall apart a bit. But we limited them very little in the second half and started playing our football.

“It wasn’t meant to be.

“I thought McGinn might have had a penalty, I had a good view of it. To be honest, there weren’t too many fouls.

“We have to take confidence. The immediate feeling is frustration and disappointment. This group of guys will bounce back, we’re in this together.

Player Rating: