SCOTLAND were edged out at Tynecastle by top seeds Denmark after they failed to recover from an early strike as they went down in the first of four home qualifying matches in their Euro 2023 campaign.

FC Midtjylland midfielder Gustav Isaksen's shot deceived Manchester City keeper Cieran Slicker and the 21s coudn't force an equaliser despite Glenn Middleton and sub Scott Banks going close.

Scotland - who gained a creditable 1-1 draw in Turkey last month - now face Kazakhstan and Belgium at Tannadice next month and manager Scot Gemmill insisted his kids deserved plenty of credit despite this loss.

He said: "We are disappointed to lose, but I try to speak to the players about the positives. I felt it was a positive performance. There have been times in the past when a Pot One team will completely dictate the game to us. I didn’t feel that was the case.

"There were moments when they did and our players had to show resilience and intelligence.

"But the goal we lost was disappointing. Something I demand from the team is defending throw-ins. We are normally very good at shutting it down, but it got switched and seven or eight seconds again the ball was in the back of out net.

"That is the level we are playing against and if you don’t do your job the ball will end up in the back of your net. It’s a steep learning curve.

"I don't know about whether keeper should have done better because I’ve not seen it back yet but watching it live, I’m not sure of the answer.

"Our players have shown we can be resilient and aggressive and hard to beat. We do need to add that extra bit to our game, but I take responsibility because I put so much emphasis on being hard to beat. But it’s very difficult because the more open you are against that level of opposition you take more risks. You have to find that balance.

"The young players are all doing great because they have confidence and know they are good players. We need to package that together into a team performance.

"The games at home in November are two different games against Kazakhstan, where we are expected to win and we have to break them down. Against Belgium we will have to show resilience and tactical intelligence. It’s two great challenges."

Gemmill made four changes from the depleted side who drew in Turkey last month, with his English-based players back in the squad. Slicker, West Ham defender Harrison Ashby, Lincoln City's Lewis Fiorini and Ross County's Jack Burroughs all started.

But it was a nightmare start for highly-rated keeper Slicker, who played for City during pre-season games. FC Midtjylland midfielder Gustav Isaksen cut inside in the 13th minute and was given too much room, but his shot took a bounce and seemed to go through the arms of the diving Slicker, who knew he should have done better.

It drew a spirited response from the young Scots who drove forward in search of an equaliser with Ashby having a volley blocked.

But that led to spaces for the dangerous Danes and Slicker partly redeemed himself by making a fine one-on-one save from Eintracht Frankfurt playmaker Jesper Lindstrom, who was in their side when they beat Bayern Munich at the weekend.

Lindstrom really should have doubled the Danes' lead a few minutes after the interval when he blasted over from close range after the visitors carved a hesitant home defence open.

Glenn Middleton came close to marking his 50th appearance for Scotland's youth teams with a goal when he turned a fired a shot which had to be well saved by Brondby keeper Mads Hermansen and the ball didn't sit down enough for Celtic's Adam Montgomery to knock in the rebound before the Danes got back to clear.

Lindstrom then dinked another glorious chance past the post after he caught out the Scots' offside trap.

Former Rangers starlet Dapo Mebude, now on loan at AFC Wimbledon from Watford, almost made an immediate impact on his Under 21s debut after coming on for Montgomery when his shot was deflected just wide.

He was later booked for diving as Scotland threw bodies forward in an effort to salvage a point to no avail, with Crystal Palace midfielder Scott Banks forcing a fine save from Hermansen in injury time and Mebude wasn't able to turn the rebound in.

SCOTLAND (4-5-1): Slicker; Ashby, Mayo, Welsh, Doig (Banks 72); Burroughs, Kelly (High 76), Williamson (Leonard 72), Fiorini, Montgomery (Mebude 57); Middleton.

UNUSED SUBS: Sinclair, Clayton, Scott, Stretton, Kennedy.
Booked: Fiorini, Mebude