Scotland v Costa Rica: Story of the match

Alex McLeish began his second tenure as Scotland boss with an uninspiring 1-0 defeat by Costa Rica at Hampden Park.

An experimental home side who started with four debutants fell behind in the 14th minute when Marco Urena scored what proved to be the winner with a well-taken finish.

Scotland created a handful of chances but Matt Ritchie and Oli McBurnie saw efforts saved.

First minister Nicola Sturgeon’s special advisor sticks the boot in.

McLeish handed first caps to Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay, Aberdeen defender Scott McKenna, Fulham midfielder Kevin McDonald and Barnsley’s in-form loan striker McBurnie while Jamie Murphy won his first cap as a late substitute. Only two players remained from Gordon Strachan’s final starting line-up – Charlie Mulgrew and Andy Robertson – and Scotland were unsurprisingly disjointed against a settled side who are gearing up for the World Cup finals. However, the Scots did create a steady supply of chanced with McBurnie and Ritchie forcing good saves.

McLeish was looking for new heroes but skipper Mulgrew was his most impressive performer with a strong and composed display, while wing-back Robertson also impressed. But McTominay and McBurnie in particular showed promise on their debuts.

McLeish was looking to fire up the Tartan Army but a small section of the 20,000 Hampden crowd booed their team off after an uninspiring display. There is likely to be more experimentation in Budapest on Tuesday but the defeat could prompt McLeish to name a more experienced side in a bid to kick-start his second reign.

Scotland: Allan McGregor 6, Callum Paterson 5, Grant Hanley 5, Charlie Mulgrew 7, Scott McKenna 6, Andy Robertson 6, Scott McTominay 6, Kevin McDonald 5, Tom Cairney 5, Matt Ritchie 5, Oli McBurnie 6. Substitutes: Stuart Armstrong (for McTominay, 58) 6, Callum McGregor (for Cairney, 58) 6, Matt Phillips (for McBurnie, 77) 5, John McGinn (for Mulgrew, 82) 5, Jamie Murphy (for Ritchie, 87) 6

Costa Rica: Keylor Navas 7, Christian Gamboa 6,  Johnny Acosta 6,  Giancarlo Gonzalez 7, Oscar Duarte 7, Bryan Oviedo 7, Celso Borges 7, David Guzman 6, Bryan Ruiz 6, Daniel Colindres 7, Marco Urena 7. Substitutes:  Yeltsin Tejeda (for Guzman, 56) 5, Rodney Wallace (for Colindres, 64) 5, Yendrick Ruiz (for Urena, 69) 5, Ian Smith (for Gamboa, 75) 5, Francisco Calvo (for Oviedo, 78) 5.

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