Scotland's World Cup qualifier with the Netherlands at Hampden Park tonight began in cagey fashion, George Burley's men clearly conscious of the fine balance they would have to draw between attacking and defending against a team with the attacking quality of Holland.
However, any doubts about the sharpness of the men in orange, who have already sealed their place at next summer's finals, were dispelled in the fourth minute, when Dirk Kuyt struck a firm shot that rebounded off David Marshall's left-hand post.
The Scots looked tentative in response, but managed to win a corner in the seventh minute after a neat passage of play ended in Kenny miller's shot being deflected wide.
That seemed to give the Scots some confidence, and Scott Brown pushed an effort just wide in the tenth minute after a sweeping cross from the right from Alan Hutton. Holland continued to press as well though, as the game became to gather momentum and look perhaps a little more open than George Burley would have wanted.
