Scotland Under-21 coach Billy Stark praised his side's defending after their 2-1 defeat to Iceland in Reykjavik kept their hopes of reaching the European Under-21 Championships very much alive.
The home side won thanks to Almarr Ormarsson's 78th-minute winner, but Scotland know a 1-0 win in the second leg at Easter Road on Monday will see them into the finals for the first time since 1996.
"I think it's nicely set up. I think we played against a good side and we had to defend pretty well and I think we did that," said Stark.
Jamie Murphy put Scotland in front after just 19 minutes to silence the crowd of 7,255, but Iceland bounced back with an equaliser from Johann Berg Gudmundsson after 34 minutes.
Ormarsson became Iceland's hero when he volleyed home a glorious winning goal from 30 yards with 12 minutes remaining.
"When you lose with a goal like that it's difficult to legislate what happened," added Stark. "It was a spectacular goal. I felt we were coping well although Iceland stretched us at the back."
He added: "I just feel we could have used the ball a little bit better. Even in the last 10 minutes we had some good situations which we could have turned into better chances. But we played pretty well and I think both sides feel they had opportunities."
Stark claimed the Iceland team had not surprised him and he had been prepared for a tough game.
"They played as I expected them to," he said. "They obviously had their full team and that was a help to them. They were powerful, pacy and direct at times.
"When you have to go to a place and have to play against a team with their full squad you can't be to disappointed with the result. You could say that we hoped to win the game but with all things considered I'm reasonably satisfied."
Source: PA
