It was the Dutch who destroyed Scotland's dreams of qualifying for the 2004 European Championships when they handed out a footballing lesson.

When you fall to world-class talents such as Wesley Sneijder, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Frank de Boer, then it most certainly makes it easier to accept. As much as the 6-0 drubbing they handed out during a play-off to reach the finals was hard to take, it was at least understandable.

Berti Vogts and his players might have come in for fierce criticism for the way his team collapsed in Amsterdam having won the first leg at Hampden Park 1-0, however, at least they had the comfort of knowing they had no-one to blame bar themselves.

Unfortunately, Craig Levein doesn't have the same luxury after Dutch referee Kevin Blom single-handedly ended his team's chances of reaching the European Championships next summer with a shocking decision to award the Czech Republic a last-gasp penalty for a 2-2 draw.

Levein could not put the result down to an individual error from one of his players. That wasn't the case. His players had more than done their job and the manager knew as much. There wasn't a failure and, indeed, some were nothing short of outstanding as Scott Brown and Kenny Miller turned in flawless performances.

As the seconds ticked away and the final whistle drew ever closer, it looked as though their efforts were going to be rewarded in the shape of a 2-1 victory. And it would have, of course, propelled Levein's men back into the race for a second-place finish in Group I.

That, however, was until the man in red decided to take centre stage. Somehow, he pointed to the spot as Jan Rezek dived without any contact whatsoever from Danny Wilson to hand the visitors a ticket back into the game ... and one that Michal Kadlec wasn't going to turn down as he fired high into the roof of the net.

Even at the time, it didn't look as though it was a foul and, from the whistler's vantage point, it should have been a routine enough decision to make. Quite simply, such blunders at this level, and in matches as important as this one, are unacceptable.

While many will also insist his decision not to award one at the other end when there was at least minor contact before Christophe Berra went down was another huge gaffe, there is no doubt the Wolves defender made a meal of it, which prob-ably deprived him of any chance of being awarded a spot-kick.

But what these two decisions prove without any shadow of a doubt is, in the modern world, TV evidence can no longer be ignored.

Remember, Scotland is not the first nation to suffer at the hands of bad officiating or cheating from an opponent – and we won't be the last.

The Republic of Ireland and Thierry Henry's handball springs to mind. That decision did cost a team a place at the World Cup finals whereas Saturday's calls simply deprived Levein's team of the possibility of maybe finishing second in the group and securing a play-off place.

But the issue of using technology can no longer be ignored. Having taken a minute or two to communicate with an assistant referee in the stand watching TV replays, Blom should have been allowed to reverse his decision and take severe action against Rezek.

If cheats are shown yellow or red cards for blatant acts and know for certain they won't benefit from doing it, then you can be sure it won't be long in disappearing.

Sadly, if it ever does come into place, it will be too little, too late, where Levein and Scotland are concerned in terms of this current qualification bid. And it is a great shame because this current crop of players might just have been ready to impress by the time next summer comes.

In Allan McGregor, Levein couldn't ask for a better goalkeeper and his defence of Alan Hutton, Gary Caldwell, Berra and Phil Bardsley is one that is made up of English Premier League players.

The strongest department of the team has got to be the midfield. Darren Fletcher and Charlie Adam play for two of the top teams south of the border in Manchester United and Liverpool, and Brown and Steven Naismith are prominent players for both Celtic and Rangers.

James Morrison has impressed as well for West Brom and, in attack, Miller has always produced the goods for his country, and the striker was excellent on Saturday as he scored the opener before setting up the second for Fletcher.

If anything, the only thing lacking was a bit more flair and creativity in the final third. The work-rate was brilliant, the pressing in the first half put the Czech Republic players under pressure and the ball retention, at times, was impressive.

After taking the lead on the stroke of half-time, a setback was suffered when some slack marking allowed Jaroslav Plasil to equalise but, to their credit, Scotland refused to crumble and, when Fletcher restored the advantage with just seven minutes remaining, it looked like Levein's team were home and dry. Then came the sickener.

So, once again, it will be a case of what if? But, with a young side at his disposal, surely World Cup qualification has got to be a serious possibility.

It's win or bust for trio of ties

The runners-up from Group I will go into a play-off for Euro 2012 regardless of their points total.

But to finish in second place, Scotland need to win their three remaining matches against Lithuania, Liechtenstein and Spain, and hope the Czech Republic drop points in their two final games.

If the Czechs win one and draw one of those games, at home to Spain and away to Lithuania, they would still progress to Poland and Ukraine if the Scots take nine points.

The rivals would finish level on 14 points and the Czechs would go through by merit of their head-to-head record.

If Michal Bilek's team lose both their games – and they lost to Lithuania at home and Spain away – and Craig Levein's side win two of their last three games, then we will progress.

If Tomas Rosicky and Co. draw their remaining two games they would move to 12 points and Scotland would not make it if they win two and draw one of their fixtures.

The 1-0 defeat the national team suffered in Prague last year could well prove costly to our hopes of reaching a major finals for the first time since France in 1998.

TIMES TALKER: Is that the end of our 2012 bid?

GLIMMER OF HOPE says ALISON McCONNELL

It may seem absurd to suggest there is a glimmer of hope for Scotland but, until it is utterly out of reach, the national team has to continue aiming for that elusive play-off spot.

It will take a mighty effort for the Scots to win their next three games, the final match is away to Spain, but Craig Levein's side must keep believing.

The biggest hope the coach can have is that a degree of complacency creeps in to the play of the Czechs and the Spaniards now.

There has been an improvement in the performances of the national side, and they were only minutes away on Saturday from a victory which would have kick-started their campaign.

The Czech game was seen as a do-or-die meeting, but Scotland have to keep thinking that it isn't over until it is mathematically out of reach.

IT'S ALL OVER says BERT MITCHELL

This was the last-chance saloon for Scotland's hopes of ending what will be a 14-year absence from major international tournaments.

A five-point gap between the Scots and second-placed Czech Republic, with Scotland having three games left and Michal Bilek's boys two, means the gap is not insurmountable.

But what are the chances of Scotland claiming nine points when the last qualifier is against world champs Spain?

With Scott Brown and Kenny Miller banned for tomorrow night's visit of Lithuania, Scotland will do well to keep their hopes alive beyond this week.

What is left of this qualifying campaign is for Craig Levein's men to finish as positively as possible.

The catastrophic effect of Dutch whistler Kevin Blom's two refereeing howlers on Saturday means all that remains to play for from the current campaign is pride.