Quite a number of years ago circa 78 Ally Macleod the then Scotland team manager(soccer) was on that long standing Radio programme Desert Island Discs and was asked to dedicate a record to his English counterpart Alf Ramsay and he chose "Dont cry for me Argentina"--Scotland having qualiified for that ill fated event.and England having failed
Since then Argentina seems to have haunted us off and on the pitch

THE HERALD REPORTS
C’est tout fini: Scots bow out to pumas
KEVIN FERRIE October 08 2007



A glorious Parisian day turned into a romance-free evening for Scotland as a magnificent late fightback was resisted and Argentina bludgeoned their way to their first World Cup semi-final at the Stade de France last night.

Brave in the body-battering physical exchanges, but not as bold in creative terms as they needed to be until it was a little too late, the Scots showed more ambition than their opponents, but it was a grim, attritional affair in which Puma power prevailed.

Throughout the day we had revelled in autumn sunshine warmer than anything experienced during the Scottish summer and a blessed relief after the torrents of the previous week in St Etienne. The roar greeting the sides was such that it might have been Murrayfield, or indeed River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires and there seemed to be more Argentinians in the ground than Scots.

Yet the majority were neutrals, locals who had expected France to be playing in this match when they bought their tickets and they made their presence felt by following the official anthems with a full-throated rendition of Le Marseillaise as the game kicked off.

advertisementThat was interrupted by the first strike on goal after Scotland's failure to deal with Juan Martin Hernandez's kick off saw the ball quickly returned to the stand-off whose drop-goal attempt slid just wide with 14 seconds on the clock.

Thereafter Hernandez was so intent on blasting the ball skywards that with one of half a dozen Garryowens in the first 10 minutes he struck the cable carrying the overhead camera.

Felipe Contepomi was presented with a chance to open the scoring, but hooked his penalty attempt horribly wide. Harried and hustled at every turn, the Scots had hardly spent any time in opposition territory, yet against the run of play took the lead. Mike Blair took a high ball on halfway and those engulfing him were offside. Though beyond Paterson's range Dan Parks reckoned he could get it over and struck it true to maintain Scottish kickers' combined 100 per cent tournament record.

The scores were levelled in 23 minutes when Nathan Hines tackled high on Hernandez as he tried to break and Contepomi punished him by finding the target from 45 metres out.

It was largely ugly, error strewn stuff and the tension was clearly affecting the players. Hernandez sliced a drop goal attempt horribly, but then Rory Lamont made a poor decision in trying to run it back, got caught close to his own line, and was penalised for failing to release as Contepomi struck again.

The half's key moment was inevitably brought about by a mistake. Parks, hero in St Etienne a week earlier, took too long to clear when deep in his 22 and Gonzalo Longo Elia was all over him. The No.8 should have been second favourite to get to there as it rebounded, but Sean Lamont seemed more interested in blocking him than going for the ball as Longo Elia dived head first towards and carried it over the line.

The Scots were handed a lifeline when awarded a penalty for a ruck infringement 30 metres out and, of course, Paterson put it over. Then a potentially significant victory was won just before the break when, at a scrum in their own 22, the Scots pushed the vaunted Pumas pack off the ball to take one against the head.

Presumably the high penalty count was a discussion point in the Scottish dressing room at half-time, but two were quickly conceded following the re-start, the second inside the 22, allowing Contepomi to re-establish a 10 point advantage.

When Scotland were then awarded another penalty from similar range to the one he had put over earlier, but wider, Parks tried to hit it too hard and ballooned it. That pretty much summed things up. For all the effort they were putting in Scotland were struggling to get anywhere.

The Pumas were hardly inspired either, but Hernandez added to his burgeoning reputation as a drop goal expert with 55 minutes gone and at 19-6 the contest looked all but over.

Andy Henderson having come on at half-time, Scotland now added four more replacements in Kelly Brown, Scott McLeod, Chris Cusiter and Craig Smith and their introductions lifted the effort.

Smith made the first notable difference with a rampaging 25 metre run into Puma territory. The ball fell loose but then arrived at Paterson, who countered cross-field. Ross Ford charged on before releasing Rory Lamont on the right. He was stopped just short and the ball was shifted left, as the Scots took risks with their handling, stretching play to the touchline.

An Argentine infringement saw advantage played and as the ball squeezed out of the ruck Simon Webster committed his man and put Cusiter into the corner. Scotland had a glimmer of hope.

Hernandez attempted to extinguish it immediately with another drop goal attempt, but it fell wide, then with six minutes left a magnificent penalty touch-finder by Parks provided a rare opportunity to win ball in the Puma 22. Yet MacLeod failed to take Lawson's throw and the chance was lost.

Now winning the lion's share of possession, still they searched for the vital breakthrough, hurling the ball from wing to wing.

Another penalty was won near halfway, Parks again did his job and with the crowd now on side this time, the ball was won.

Scotland laid siege to the line, but were eventually forced to go wide and Parks tried to find Lamont with a cross kick, but slightly overhit it and the final opportunity was lost.

Teams, scorers

Scotland
R Lamont (H Southwell 68); S Lamont, S Webster, R Dewey (A Henderson 41), C Paterson; D Parks, M Blair (Cusiter 56); G Kerr (C Smith 56), R Ford (S Lawson 68), E Murray, N Hines, J Hamilton (S MacLeod 56), J White, capt, S Taylor, A Hogg (K Brown 56) Scorers Tries: Cusiter.

Con: Paterson. Pens: Parks, Paterson Attendance: 75,000

Argentina
I Corleto; L Borges, M Contepomi (H Senillosa 67), F Contepomi, H Agulla; J M Hernandez, A Pichot, capt; R Roncero, M Ledesma, M Scelzo (O Hasan 57), I F Lobbe, P Albacete, L Ostiglia (J M Leguizamon 55), G Longo, C F Lobbe (Kairelis 51) Substitutes: A V Basualdo, R Alvarez, N F Miranda, F Todeschini, Scorers Tries: Elia. Cons: F Contepomi. Pens: F Contepomi 3, Drop Goal: Lobbe

This article was originally posted on 8-Oct-2007, 08:31 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 8-Oct-2007, 08:32.