Georgia 1-0 Scotland

Scotland's quest for Euro 2016 qualification suffered a severe blow after a dispiriting loss in Georgia.

It was a promising start in terms of possession for Scotland but a lack of chances and some poor defending was Gordon Strachan's side's undoing.

Defeat leaves Scotland needing a win against Germany on Monday if they are to have a realistic chance of automatic qualification for the finals in France.

Their prospects were dented further later on Friday when the Republic of Ireland beat Gibraltar 4-0 to leapfrog the Scots into third place in Group D, while Germany moved to the top of the table with a 3-1 win against Poland.

The fourth-placed Scots are three points behind the second-placed Poles - the top two qualify automatically - but their hopes of finishing in the top three and securing at least a play-off spot are now out of their own hands.

The Scots toiled for much of the match in Tbilisi and only seriously threatened in the closing stages with a Shaun Maloney free-kick deflected over and Grant Hanley heading wide.

History repeats itself

Former Scotland players like James McFadden had urged the current squad not to repeat the damaging 2-0 loss in Georgia that contributed massively to missing out on the Euro 2008 finals.

Indeed, some in the Georgia squad had featured in that 2007 encounter.

The atmosphere at kick-off failed to reflect the stakes for Scotland and only the 2,000 travelling fans seemed determined to make a din in a hot, sticky stadium that looked one-third full at best.

Any suggestions that the visitors would proceed with caution were soon put to bed as Strachan's attack-minded side pushed and pressed from the start - early chances though proved hard to come by.

Sensing early frustration, the Georgians seemed ready and willing to break at the slightest invitation and when they did, they looked dangerous.

Frustrated Fletcher

Much of the pre-match debate had centred around whether the game in Tbilisi was a 'must-win' for the Scots, given Germany, Poland and the Republic of Ireland's wins in Georgia.

Who would play the lone striker role was also a hot topic, given Leigh Griffiths' six goals for Celtic versus Fletcher's one for Sunderland.

Fletcher got the nod but his tendency to drop deep, particularly in the first half, illustrated Scotland's struggle against a side adept at cutting off the striker's supply line.

Hull City defender Andrew Robertson was back in the side and on the half-hour mark his tantalising ball in from the left-hand side just eluded the outstretched foot of Fletcher.

Griffiths eventually entered the fray in the second half as Ikechi Anya was withdrawn but no chances fell the way of the Scottish Premiership's top scorer.

Georgia make their mark

As the tempo dropped the home side started to dominate and duly took the lead as Vitesse Arnhem midfielder Qazaishvili slotted a low shot past David Marshall from the edge of the box after Scotland had failed to deal with some crisp Georgian passing in the final third.

As the net bulged and the home fans rose as one, the new feel-good factor that's been following Scotland of late glanced towards the exit door.

Other than an away win in Gibraltar, Georgia's campaign so far had been barren and there was a determination to protect their lead.

Steven Naismith screamed "goal" after connecting with an inswinging Maloney corner that bounced up on the line and over but referee Ovidiu Hategan blew for a foul against goalkeeper Nukri Revishvili.

Shorty after that, Fletcher watched his low effort crash off the post but the offside flag that followed summed up the way things were going for the Scots.

As Gordon Strachan's side continued to run out of ideas, the home side grew in confidence and Mchedlidze, a scorer against the Scots in 2007 - came close when his rasping long-range effort was palmed away by Marshall.

Man of the match - Levan Mchedlidze

Levan Mchedlidze was a teenager when he played and scored against the Scots in 2007 and he harried the 2015 vintage with some forceful runs.

His second-half strike that forced David Marshall into action brought the home fans to their feet.

What next?

Germany visit Hampden on Monday and though there are still qualifiers against the Poles and Gibraltar to come, Strachan's side will probably need a positive result against the world champions to maintain a realistic challenge for the top two places.

The Scots ran Joachim Low's side close in the opening round of group fixtures, going down 2-1 in Dortmund.

But the Germans travel to Glasgow with the country not having suffered an away loss to Scotland since the 1930s.

The stats you need to know

• Scotland did not register a shot on target in their defeat by Georgia.
• Gordon Strachan's side failed to find the net for the first time in 13 matches.
• The Scots last beat Monday's opponents Germany in Bremen in 1999 when Don Hutchison's solitary strike settled the friendly encounter.
• In their last three successful qualification campaigns for France 1998, Euro 96 and Euro 92, Scotland suffered only one group defeat each time.