Scotland surrendered a two-goal lead to the Czech Republic last night and they now know they must take the low road if they are to qualify for next year's European Championship finals.

Pilloried for their failure to beat the Faroe Islands four days previously, Paul Ritchie and Allan Johnston scored goals to force them into a match-winning position. Then the Czechs, not before time, received a wake-up call to exhibit why they are the only team in the entire competition with an unblemished record. Three goals later, they were off on an undisguised lap of honour.

The question, though, was not whether the Scots were up for the combat - which they clearly were - but rather whether they would simply be swept aside by the greater technical skills of the Czechs. At least Scotland had a better shape to them. And all the pre-match body language suggested that they were not treating the tie as an end of season chore.

This mood might even have been translated into a goal as early as the 10th minute when Iain Durrant's ambitious 50-yard pass to Johnston forced a corner. Durrant delivered the cross and Ritchie was allowed a free header but struck it over the bar.

There was more encouragement after 15 minutes when goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek did well to parry a shot from Billy Dodds. However, the Czechs had promised to be crafty and patient. So they were.

But they could not have anticipated that Scotland would take the lead in the 30th minute. Tom Boyd's foraging won a corner on the right. Callum Davidson's inswinger passed everyone before it was decisively headed home by Ritchie, storybook stuff.

But the best was still to come. In the 63rd minute Scotland assembled the score-line that dreams are made of when they added a second goal. The work was done on the left, crucially by Kevin Gallacher's cunning low cross, allowing Johnston to dive forward in front of Srnicek and glance his header into the net.

Then it went horribly wrong. The Czechs went straight up the field and the Scots, their concentration broken, relaxed. Pavel Nedved's corner was crushingly headed in by Tomas Repka past Neil Sullivan, whose keeping had kept his side in the game.

But the goalkeeper hesitated in the 77th minute as the substitute Pavel Kuka moved on to Vratislav Lokvenc's through-pass to equalise and set up the Czechs' final surge. That brought them the winner four minutes from time when the other substitute Jan Koller headed in Vladimir Smicer's cross.

Czech Republic: Srnicek, Repka, Suchoparek, Nedved (Koller 65), Hornak, Hasek (Baranek 60), Nemec, Poborsky (Kuka 65), Lakvenc, Smicer, Berger. Subs Not Used: Maier, Nikl, Galasek, Horvath. Booked: Suchoparek, Poborsky, Smicer. Goals: Repka 65, Kuka 75, Koller 87.

Scotland: Sullivan, Weir, Boyd, Calderwood, Ritchie, Davidson, Dodds, Lambert, Gallacher, Durrant (Jess 71), Johnston. Subs Not Used: Gould, Whyte, O'Donnell, Gemmill, Cameron, Winters. Booked: Davidson, Ritchie, Dodds. Goals: Ritchie 30, Johnston 62. Attendance: 22,000.

Referee: H Krug (Germany).