THERE'S NO DOUBT I SHOULD'VE SCORED .. IT WASN'T OUR NIGHT

WE always get a chance. No matter how deep we defend, killing off space to deny technically superior opponents scoring opportunities, we always get at least one.

It happened again last night. One-nil down with 10 minutes to go and Robbie Neilson sweeps in a glorious cross for Kenny Miller, six yards out with the goal at his mercy.

The striker had worked his socks off as usual, almost scoring with a cross-cum-shot that had scuffed the woodwork.

But this was THE chance and the second it flew off his head and wide of the keeper's right-hand post, you knew this was the night that the fairytale beginning to the European Championship qualification process would grind to a halt.

Sure enough, five minutes later Steven Pressley was sent off for a last-man challenge when he wasn't last man. And four minutes after that, the Swedish referee compounded the felony by awarding Ukraine a penalty for a non-existent foul on Andriy Shevchenko that just didn't happen.

So, a 2-0 defeat, a man sent off and another two, James McFadden and Darren Fletcher, booked and out of the next qualifier against Georgia.

Despite all that doom and gloom, though, there was still a purpose and a presence about this Scotland performance. The players weren't bumbling around in the dark without a clue as they had been almost two years ago to the very night when a 1-1 draw in Moldova finally killed off Berti Vogts' cursed reign.

Kenny Miller knows all that and although the disappointment was etched on his features as he spoke outside the Olympic Stadium late last night, he knows also this is a team on the up under Walter Smith.

He just wishes he could have scored when the chance presented itself. The Celtic striker said: "I'm obviously gutted. We defended for our lives in the first half and achieved our objective of going in at half time 0-0, as we did on Saturday. In the second half, they bombarded us for the first 20 minutes but we thought we'd got past it.

"Then we made a wee mistake in the box and their player has sclaffed it and it's trickled into the back of the net.

"I felt we then had our best spell of the game and I had the chance with the header. I should have scored to make it 1-1 and that would have made it a different game. We would have had something to defend.

"I knew I wasn't offside. I had come from deep and moved on to Robbie's cross. I got a connection on it but it wasn't enough. That was disappointing. I also hit the post and on another night that would have gone in.

"There's no doubt I should have scored. But it just wasn't our night. You look at Elvis' sending off - it was Gary Caldwell's ball, or even Craig Gordon could have come and claimed it.

"Elvis was never last man and if he had not gone off we could have hit with them everything but the kitchen sink in the closing stages.

"We would have taken two points before the weekend but after winning on Saturday you get greedy. We were very confident we would get at least a draw here. That would have been a dream start."

Miller knows that when the disappointment eases a sense of achievement will return as the fine start we've made to Group B finally sinks in. He added: "We can't beat ourselves up too much. We've lost to a good team on the night in their own backyard.

"We have to remember we are still joint top of the group for the next five months and if anybody had said do you want nine points out of 12 from the opening four games, we'd have bitten their hand off."

Too right. Tomorrow marks the two-year anniversary of a dreadful result that has turned out to be one of the best in Scotland's history. An awful 1-1 draw with the minnows of Moldova in Chisinau finally forced the SFA to do what should have been done months earlier - get rid of Vogts.

Last night only four of the players who started for Scotland in the German's final match marched out into the Olympic Stadium - Gordon, Barry Ferguson, Caldwell and Fletcher - and they were able to do so with their chests puffed out and their heads held high.

Irrespective of the result against Ukraine, Scotland's respectability as a football nation has been restored since Vogts was replaced.

This was the manager's 16th match in charge and until last night only three had ended in defeat. More than that, only once in eight away matches had Smith's team lost and that was in his first match against Italy at the San Siro.

Nor have we been travelling the globe in search of easy scalps. Victories in Norway, Slovenia, Lithuania and in Japan, where we demolished Bulgaria, are not to be sniffed at and draws have been extracted from Belarus, Austria and Japan in Smith's reign.

We've also learned to score goals again - the only blank fired in our previous eight matches was the 0-0 draw with Japan in the summer.

Unfortunately, another one came last night. But things are still so much better than they were under the last regime.

KEY MOMENTS

4 - First moment of danger for Scotland when Andriy Shevchenko feeds Oleg Gusev inside the area but Steven Pressley produces a decisive block.

7 - James McFadden hurt in challenge from Viacheslav Sviderskiy.

9 - McFadden cautioned for late tackle on Maxim Kalinichenko and is ruled out of next qualifier against Georgia in March.

10 - Dangerous run across the area by Shevchenko finds Gusev and Barry Ferguson makes crucial tackle.

14 - Darren Fletcher escapes down the right to collect Paul Hartley ball but cross is poor and Ukraine clear.

21 - Ferguson flattens Shevchenko in a challenge and Fletcher is yellow-carded for a foul and also misses the Georgia game.

24 - Superb left-footed cross from Sviderskiy on the right flank is met by Kalinichenko, who heads over the bar.

27 - Craig Gordon saves well after a scramble inside the box.

31 - Oleksander Kucher booked for a foul on Kenny Miller inside the centre circle.

35 - Gary Caldwell clears well under pressure inside the Scotland area.

39 - Gordon produces superb near-post save from an Andriy Voronin strike.

47 - Scotland relieved to see Shevchenko toe-poke come back off the post.

49 - Chelsea striker is left unmarked inside the area but directs his header from a Kalinichenko cross well wide of Gordon's goal.

51 - Shevchenko free-kick is gathered by Gordon with three Ukrainian players lurking.

54 - Hartley concedes free-kick on the edge of the area with foul on Andriy Nesmachniy but Kalinichenko fires over.

56 - Fierce Nesmachniy drive headed clear by Caldwell.

60 - Shevchenko sends over free-kick from the left but McFadden clearance strikes Sviderskiy and the ball rolls into the path of Kucher who drives it past Gordon.

63 - Shevchenko drive moves in the air but Gordon parries.

66 - Miller spots Ukraine keeper Oleksandr Shovkovskiy off his line and sends in a shot from the flank that hits the crossbar.

72 - Good tracking back by Caldwell prevents Ukraine substitute Artem Milevskiy reaching the area.

73 - McFadden replaced by Kris Boyd.

78 - Pressley makes another vital block from Anatoliy Tymoschuk inside the Scotland area.

80 - Miller adjudged to have handled as he collects excellent Ferguson ball.

81 - Robbie Neilson cross from the right finds Miller unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box but the Celtic forward glances his header wide.

86 - Pressley dismissed for last-man challenge on Shevchenko despite the fact Caldwell had chased back.

88 - Shevchenko wins dubious penalty against Neilson.

90 - After the Hearts defender is replaced by Stephen McManus, Chelsea's star forward seals the win from the spot.

90 + 2 - Voronin fires just over the bar from distance.

Taken from the Daily Record