SCOTLAND Under 17s boss Brian McLaughlin insisted he was proud of his kids as they wilted in the Israeli heat to leave them on the brink of a Euro Finals exit.
The young Scots crashed to their second defeat of the tournament in Ramat Gan and only a freak set of results and a thumping Scotland win in their final game on Monday against Sweden could give them any remote hope of qualifying.
Rangers starlet Rory Wilson levelled, but they conceded a goal within a minute of the restart after an own goal from Celtic's Magnus Mackenzie and never looked likely to recover.
But McLaughlin praised captain, Kilmarnock defender Charlie McArthur, who had an excellent display and insisted his kids will learn from the experience.
He said: "It was 32.8 degrees before the start of the game, but that's why we are here. We were playing against a top European nation and we knew that.
"I actually think Denmark are a better footballing team than Portugal,
"I was hoping we would perform better with the ball because if you don't perform better with the ball in this heat, it's going to be a long day.
"But the players kept going and we actually had two great chances at the end. We wouldn't have deserved the draw, but at this level when you do get an opportunity, you've got to be clinical.
"The boys gave us everything both physically and mentally and they will learn from this. We've come here to try and develop as football players and there are people in that dressing room who have ambitions to become top players.
"I felt Charlie McArthur was incredible today. On the ball he was excellent, without the ball he was blocking tackles.
"His all-round leadership was immense. He should be proud of that performance."
SCOTLAND (4-2-3-1): Pazika; Kingdon, Allen (Wales 55), McArthur, Mackenzie; Miller (Rice 65), Reid; Moore (Dede 46), MacLeod (Laidlaw 65), Lobban (Cooper 55); Wilson.
UNUSED SUBS: Mahady. Jackson, Bruce, O'Donnell.
