Scotland fell short of the right result again yesterday and need to overcome the disappointment (yet again) and look forward to Holland in March

A few minutes from the worst moment of his life
Scotland new boys always remember their first game for the national side but I am confident that Chris Iwelumo will never be allowed to forget his debut in the national strip. Just after coming on for James McFadden, who had little luck against the towering defensive wall from Norway for 55 minutes, Iwelumo mis-kicked the ball past a wide open goal from three yards. No matter how well he does from now on, you can bet the clip of the miss will never be far away to haunt him. He had been waiting a long time for his international chance and must have dreamed of making the best possible debut. It was not to be and he admitted: "I'm obviously gutted. I had a big chance and I should put them away so I'm disappointed. I just have to bounce back and keep positive. I was confident and I put my foot out and it hit the heel. I'm gutted. But it's gone now and I've just got to move on. I'm my own worst critic and it's definitely something I'll be thinking about. But I'm a big character and I'll take that one on the chin and move on."

Iwelumo was determined to take some positives from his first game at the national stadium. He hopes he has shown Scotland manager George Burley what he is capable of and hopes he can retain form and be selected for the trip to Holland in March. He said: "It was fantastic. That's what I'm about, I'm a target-man and I think I'm quite mobile as well. I'm there to win headers, link up play with others and make the ball stick and I think that part worked pretty well today. It would have been nice to top it off with a goal though. It's all down to what I'm doing with my club now, so hopefully I can carry on with that form and keep knocking on the door."

The start to the qualifying campaign has not been great and Scotland should not be satisfied with the four points from a possible nine against Macedonia, Iceland and Norway. Aiming for the number two position in the group has always been the target with Holland firm favourites to romp the group. Scotland need to start performing and delivering results that we do not have to put a brave face on. Scotland fans make up the side as well and there will be players thinking this morning that they did not do enough for the country. After the game Iwelumo said: "There is disappointment in the dressing room. We had most of the chances and, of course, I should have done better myself. But there are positives to be taken out of it and we move on from there. There are many ups and downs and we just have to ride with it. We are a good bunch and we are confident so we will look ahead to the next match."

Burley offers his views to the media
In the post match interviews, Burley said: "We had some good opportunities, and if we had got the first goal then we would have won the game. But it didn't happen and 99 times out of 100 Chris would have scored. Afterwards Chris said, 'I should have scored' and he is disappointed but he has shown that he is a goalscorer. His height and strength gave the Norway defence lots of problems and he linked well with Steven Fletcher. It was his first time in the squad but he showed that he could do well in international football."

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