Burley tastes first defeat as Scots fall to Sionko double

CZECH REPUBLIC 3 SCOTLAND 1

George Burley slumped to his first defeat as Scotland manager and admitted he needs his best players at his disposal. But the national team coach declared last night's friendly in Prague a worthwhile exercise.

Burley had seven absentees ahead of his debut against Croatia in March and suffered another six before this game, including key players like James McFadden and Alan Hutton.

Burley said: "For any nation, you want your best players available and hopefully come the World Cup qualifiers we will have them available. But who knows? You can get injuries so you need a squad and competition and that showed today. Young players got experience and that can only be good for the future. We needed to be tested as our first two World Cup qualifiers are away from home."

Motherwell's David Clarkson marked his debut with a goal but a double from Libor Sionko and a Michal Kadlec strike sealed the win for the home side.

"Sometimes in defeat you learn more," Burley insisted. "The Czechs stepped up in the second half and it was disappointing to lose the goals. But you are learning about players and it was certainly a worthwhile exercise."

Following a goalless first half, the Czechs took the lead with an hour gone. Sionko gathered Zdenek Pospech's pass on his chest before firing home from just a few yards out.

The home side scored again after 84 minutes when Kadlec, once linked with a move to Celtic, rifled low into the net before Scotland pulled a goal back a minute later.

Gary Naysmith was the provider and Clarkson deftly switched from his right to his left foot and fired past Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech. Clarkson has had a rollercoaster season, which saw him suffer the loss of his uncle - and Motherwell captain - Phil O'Donnell before helping his club finish third in the SPL.

Sionko then claimed his second of the game with a minute to go when he looped a shot over Craig Gordon.

Goals: Sionko (60) 1-0; Kadlec (84) 2-0; Clarkson (85) 2-1; Sionko (90) 3-1.

Czech Republic (4-4-2): Cech; Pospech (Sivok, 74), Ujfalusi (Rozehnal, h-t), Kovac, Jankulovski (Kadlec, h-t); Sionko, Polak, Matejovsky (Jarolim, h-t), Galasek; Skacel (Plasil, h-t), Koller (Sverkos, h-t).

Scotland (4-5-1): Gordon; McNaughton (Berra, 90), Naysmith, McManus (Dailly, 57), Caldwell; Hartley, Fletcher, Rae (Clarkson, 71), Robson (McCormack, 82), Morrison (Maloney, 68); Miller.

Referee: E Braamhaar (Netherlands).

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