STUART Armstrong admitted Scotland’s long-ball approach backfired as they came up well short against the Czech Republic.

Steve Clarke hoped to use Lyndon Dykes as a battering ram to open up the Czechs’ defence in their Euro 2020 opener at Hampden.

But instead of a precision operation, the QPR frontman found himself having to work off scraps as Scotland persisted in shelling a succession of aimless balls forward.

The ploy left midfield men like Armstrong, Scott McTominay and John McGinn watching for much of the game as the ball sailed over their heads.

The introduction of Armstrong’s Saints team-mate Che Adams at the break took the burden off Dykes’s shoulders but Scotland were ultimately undone by Patrik Schick’s daring double.

But Armstrong confessed Scotland got themselves lost persevering with their route-one tactics.

He told the BBC: “It was a difficult one, the game was very compact, there wasn’t much space, and we were playing too many long balls for our liking.

“When we passed it, we did quite well but it was hard to break them down.

“Disappointed with the way the first goal went in, apart from that we defended pretty well, and they showed real quality for the second goal.”

Schick angled a sublime header past David Marshall for the opener just before half-time, then doubled the Czechs’ lead with a 50-yard goal-of-the-tournament contender seven minutes after the change of ends.

Scotland created a number of golden chances themselves but could not find the lifeline they needed.

Clarke’s side now head to Wembley to face England with their chances of reaching the knock-out stages hanging by a thread.

Armstrong added: “We had chances and tried to push. They were clinical. At this level you do need to be clinical.

“We need to take experiences (of Monday), learn from what happened, make a few little tweaks to our game.

“Fundamentally there were some positive moments and we have to carry that through to Friday.

“We’ve got two chances to produce a good performance and get something from it.”

Scotland round off their Group D campaign against Croatia on June 22.