GutBtoeyddBsotiylldfeineslsistthseohwunrtgoofatlhiant tOhGe France 98 opener was just bad luck

BY EUAN McLEAN the crushing disappointment of a 3-0 loss to Morrocco.

But, good or bad, Boyd doesn’t shirk from any of the memories from that summer – incredibly still the last time the Tartan Army marched on a major tournament finals.

As far as he’s concerned his conscience is clear.

As damaging as that freak winner for Brazil was – when Cafu’s shot was saved and then cannoned off Boyd’s shoulder into his own net – and as disappointed as the nation felt afterwards it wasn’t his fault.

Just one of those horrible moments when Lady Luck decided to kick Scotland square in the teeth. A feeling all too familiar where our national team is concerned.

Boyd, now 52, said: “Of course it was devastating at the time and I get reminded of it when anniversaries of the game come up.

“But I’ve never really been too hard on myself about it because there was nothing I could have done to avoid it.

“If I had been short with a passback or something I could blame myself but what happened was just bad luck, plain and simple.

“Jim made a good save from Cafu and I was just too close to the pair of them to get out of the way of the ball.

“It hit my shoulder but you know if it had hit my chest or any other soft part of my body I’m sure the ball would have been cleared.

“Because it hit a bone it bounced off me harder and I could only look at it as it went into the net. It was almost like slow motion – I remember big Colin Hendry trying to get back to hook it off the line but he was never the quickest!

“We tried to get back into the game and forced their keeper into a couple of saves but it wasn’t to be and we were gutted at the end because we