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[monks data]
Scotland national football team
European Championship | Qualifiers
Oct 8, 2015 at 7.45pm UK
 
Poland national football team

2-2

Ritchie (45'), Fletcher (62')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Lewandowski (3', 94')

Scotland concede late on against Poland to drop out of Euro 2016 contention

Scotland are unable to progress to the Euro 2016 finals after being held to a 2-2 draw against Poland in Thursday night's Group D qualifier at Hampden Park.

A Robert Lewandowski goal in the fifth minute of injury time has denied Scotland a chance to progress to the Euro 2016 finals, as Poland claimed a 2-2 draw in Thursday night's Group D qualifier at Hampden Park.

It took the visitors just three minutes to open the scoring, with Arkadiusz Milik playing a through-ball to Lewandowski, who had plenty of time and space to slot the ball underneath David Marshall for the lead.

Robert Lewandowski of Poland celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the UEFA EURO 2016 qualifier between Scotland and Poland at Hampden Park on October 08, 2015 in Glasgow, Scotland. © Getty Images

Adam Nawalka's side continued to control possession on the pitch, with the Bayern Munich striker coming close again in the 11th minute following a cutback from Kamil Grosicki, but he couldn't apply the finish.

Scotland managed to grow into the game as the minutes ticked by, but the visitors were able to threaten on the counter-attack, with Jakub Blaszczykowski firing just wide of the left-hand post on the half-hour mark.

Just as it seemed like the hosts would be lucky to reach the break merely a goal down, they pulled level with the last kick of the first half through Matt Ritchie's ferocious left-footed strike from 30 yards out.

The second half saw both sides rush out of the starting blocks as Marshall kept out Milik's drive a minute after the restart and Steven Whittaker sliced Steven Naismith's cross wide.

Matt Ritchie of Scotland takes on Kamil Grosicki of Poland during the EURO 2016 Qualifier between Scotland and Poland at Hamden Park on October 8, 2015 in Glasgow, Scotland. © Getty Images

Poland then appealed for a penalty just before the hour when the ball hit defender Grant Hanley's hand, but the referee waved for play to continue.

In the 62nd minute, Steven Fletcher saw the ball roll to him on the right of the box, and rather than take a touch, he lashed a first-time effort past Lukasz Fabianski and into the net to give Scotland the lead.

The latter stages of the match were tense for the Tartan Army, with Tomasz Jodlowiec seeing a shot blocked, Lukasz Piszczek blasting an effort over the bar and Grosicki also nodding just over.

In the fourth minute of injury time, just when it looked like Scotland could hold on for the win, Lewandowski tapped home from a rebound to break the home nation's hearts and condemn them to another summer away from an international tournament.

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Scotland player Steven Fletcher in action during the International Friendly match between Scotland and Estonia at Pittodrie Stadium on February 6, 2013
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Live Commentary: Scotland 2-2 Poland - as it happened
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


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