Scotland hosted visitors Poland in Group D of the Euro 2016 qualifying stages on Thursday night looking to keep alive their faint hopes of progression to France.

The White Eagles started the game in memorable fashion as Robert Lewandowski put the away side ahead in just three minutes, before Matt Ritchie scored a standout effort of his own to make it 1-1 at half time.

Scotland's Steven Fletcher put the home side in front after the break, but Lewandowski returned to secure a late brace and end Gordon Strachan's hopes of qualification.

Here, Sports Mole analyses how the players fared at Hampden Park.

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Goal

David Marshall: Produced some strong saves throughout the contest and showed impressive command of his box when required. Was beaten by some cool finishing and an unlucky flick-on for the goals. (7/10)

Defence

Alan Hutton: Provided some much-needed width by overlapping his attacking partner on the right flank, while also turning in some decent crosses. Held his own when defending and put together some important tackles to deny Kamil Grosicki in the first half. (7/10)

Steven Whittaker: Brought some experience at left-back and much like Hutton got forward when needed. Was undone by Jakub Blaszczykowski on a few occasions, but will be happy with his overall performance. (6/10)

Grant Hanley: Looked in complete control at certain points in the match, although he was arguably culpable for both goals having not helped to secure his defence alongside Russell Martin. (6/10)

Russell Martin: Could be accused of not shutting down the space between Lewandowski and Arkadiusz Milik in the first half, and might have done a little better to marshall his troops before conceding the leveller in stoppage time. (6/10)

Midfield

Scott Brown: Had a fairly quiet evening for a captain, but was able to get in at some vital moments to break down some attacking Polish moves. Much like his centre-backs, he could have perhaps done a better job of organising his men in the dying embers. (6/10)

Darren Fletcher: Brought the required calm necessary for fixtures such as this one. Knitted together some of Scotland's attacking moves and appeared at the base of most things going forward. Got back to break up play and was probably only substituted due to his lack of playing time for his country in recent months. (7/10)

Matt Ritchie: Started the game rather unconvincingly down the right channel, but that all changed when he brought his side back into the game with a standout strike into the top corner of the Polish goal. His pace and width caused a number of problems for the visitors. (7/10)

James Forrest: Showed some intelligence to get into a number of promising positions, but his final touch let him down on far too many occasions. He did, however, provide the cross-field ball to pick out Ritchie for Scotland's opening goal. (6/10)

Attack

Steven Fletcher: The frontman had very little to work off in the first half, although he did show some remarkable hold-up play with limited support. His movement in the second period changed the game and he took his goal with a brilliant finish. (8/10)

Steven Naismith: His movement was outstanding and he made much of the Polish defence think twice when Scotland sought to move forward. The striker provided much of Scotland's spark when he dropped deep into space and was unlucky not to get onto the scoresheet. (7/10)

Substitutes

Shaun Maloney: Did all he could to work the Polish defence when he was introduced for Steven Naismith. Did little in front of goal, but more than enough running to put the visitors' defenders under pressure at the back. (6/10)

James McArthur: The Crystal Palace midfielder brought some fresh legs to a tiring midfield in the second half, but could do little to prevent Poland snatching a point. (6/10)

Graham Dorrans: Was introduced too late into the game to have too much of an impact on proceedings. (6/10)

Goal

Lukasz Fabianski: Showed good command of his area in the game and could do very little to stop either of the Scotland goals. Even showed his courage to come up and attack a late corner for the away side. (6/10)

Defence

Kamil Glik: Was a prominent player in the first half and started a number of key moves from the back. He handled James Forrest well and put the winger under the right sort of pressure at the key moments. (6/10)

Lukasz Piszczek: Provided some pace and width down his flank and was unlucky not to score in the second half. Might have been a touch tighter in the build-up to the Scotland goals. (6/10)

Michal Pazdan: Commanding up until half time and was at the heart of a number of moves out from the back, although he faded and struggled a touch in the second half. (6/10)

Krzysztof Maczynski: Appeared uncomfortable when asked to defend in tight areas. Again, like Piszczek, could have been tighter to his man in the run-up to both of the home side's goals. (6/10)

Midfield

Grzegorz Krychowiak: Failed to get back and help out his defence for both of the goals, and was often caught just a bit too far beyond his position to provide an extra defensive shield against Scotland's attack. (5/10)

Kamil Grosicki: Threatened down the left and showed great skill to cause problems for the home side. Alan Hutton was able to suss him out in the end, however, and he faded in the closing stages. Did manage to provide an assist with the late free kick, though. (7/10)

Maciej Rybus: Had very little impact on the game and also picked up a booking. Was subbed early in the second half. (5/10)

Jakub Blaszczykowski: Took a while to get going, but eventually provided some real power down the right flank. Turned in some good crosses and was unlucky not to grab an assist in the second half. (7/10)

Attack

Arkadiusz Milik: Started the game in fantastic fashion and produced a telling ball to cut the Scottish defence in two. Played a number of other incisive balls in the first half and was at the centre of most forward moves for the away side. (7/10)

Robert Lewandowski: Scored both of the goals and showed both efficiency and anticipation to earn Poland a vital point on the road. A standout man-of-the-match performance from the Bayern Munich frontman. (9/10)

Substitutes

Tomasz Jodłowiec: Was brought on as the first substitute in order to replace Rybus, but proved just as ineffective as his predecessor. (5/10)

Pawel Olkowski: Introduced very late in the game and did not have the required time to make any sort of recognisable contribution. (5/10)

Jakub Wawrzyniak: Showed some good experience to help push his men forward from the back in the closing stages. Was in the box to help contribute to the scramble that eventually led to the equaliser. (6/10)

Written by
Christopher Dodd