ã Reuters

A nightmare performance by goalkeeper Jim Leighton sent Scotland crashing to a 3-0 defeat by Morocco in their final appearance of France 98 here on Tuesday.

A goal in either half from Deportivo La Coruna striker Salaheddine Bassir and Abedljilil Hadda's strike just after half-time saw the Moroccans run out comfortable winners.

" We conceeded two terribly bad goals, one in the first half and one in the second. It was an uphill fight after that especially when we were reduced to ten men, " admitted Scotland coach Craig Brown.

But it was all ultimately of no importance to either side as Norway's surprise 2-1 win over Brazil saw the Scandinavians grab the second place in group A and a second round tie against Italy.

For the Moroccans, who drew 2-2 with the Norwegians in their opening match, and were counting on Brazil to open the door for them to the last 16, it was a heartbreaking blow.

Coach Henri Michel had to fight back the tears as he paid tribute to his side's performance. " I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for their outstanding performance tonight. The proved that they deserved to be in this World Cup. " It was not tonight or against Brazil that we lost our chance to reach the second round. It was failing to beat Norway that cost us everything. "

For Scotland, Tuesday's defeat was a bitterly disappointing way to conclude their eighth unsuccessful attempt to get beyond the first round at a World Cup finals. Scotland captain Colin Hendry was crushed by the defeat." It is difficult to swallow - very difficult to swallow. With Brazil getting beaten it does not really matter but we did not know that at the time, " said the Blackburn player. " At times we severed our own throats. We did not start the game the way we had hoped. I feel very sorry for the supporters. It is difficult to take, being beaten 3-0, " he added.

Morocco's superior technique and pace meant they always looked like winning on the night. But their task was made much easier than it should have been by Leighton's positioning errors on the Moroccans first two goals. Morocco went ahead in the 22nd minute after Tahar El Khalej sprung the Scottish offside trap with a perfectly weighted through ball that floated over the head of Colin Hendry and bounced invitingly on the left of the Scottish penalty area. Salaheddine Bassir timed his run into the box perfectly and unleashed a fierce left-foot drive from just outside the edge of the six-yard box that whistled through the gap that Leighton had left at his near post.

It was a hammer blow for the Scots and for Leighton it must have brought back horror memories of the mistake he made against Brazil in 1990 that cost Scotland a place in the second round of Italia 90. Scotland had gone close to opening the scoring in the 14th minute when Gordon Durie got between Moroccan goalkeeper Driss Benzekri and defender Lahcen Abrami to head John Collins free-kick just wide.

Durie went close again in the 29th minute with a long range drive after El Khalej had lost possession. Collins carved another opening for Craig Burley six minutes before half-time. The Celtic midfielder connected sweetly but his drive was fired straight at Benzekri. A minute later, Gordon Durie burst free on the left and curled in a cross with the outside of his right foot. Kevin Gallacher got in front of the lunging Benzekri but just failed to connect for what would have been a certain goal.

The Scots were dominating territorial but with their moves frequently breaking down, Morocco always looked the more likely to score and the Moroccan fans did not have to wait long to see their side apply the killer blow. Two minutes into the second period, Bassir found Hadji on space wide on the left and just inside his own half. The Moroccan playmaker chipped the ball forward for Abdeljilil Hadda to chase. The striker outpaced Hearts David Weir and as Leighton came out to narrow the angle clipped the ball over him.

The Aberdeen keeper managed to get his fingertips to it but the contact was not enough to prevent the ball from spinning into the back of the net. Any hope Scotland had of staging a comeback disappeared six minutes later when Burley was shown the red card for a wild hack at Bassir from behind.

The Scots battled bravely with ten men but the inevitable gaps at the back meant a third goal was only a matter of time. It came five minutes from the end when Bassir's shot from the edge of the box was deflected by Colin Hendry past the stranded Leighton.

© - AFP - 1998