Fletcher and Iwelumo were both thrown into the action early in the second half as the Scots vainly battled for a win against Norway at Hampden yesterday.

But his maiden appearance in the dark blue of Scotland proved to be an experience to forget for Iwelumo, who somehow managed to miss an empty net from just a few yards out.

The World Cup qualifier ended goalless, meaning George Burley's hopes of booking a place at South Africa in 2010 are already hanging in the balance.

Fletcher said: "Chris was full of apologies after the game but it's not the big man's fault, it was just a missed chance.

"Anyone can miss chances, I know that myself, and it was just unlucky. We are a team - we are not going to point fingers at anyone. He came on and did well for us."

Those views were echoed by defender Gary Caldwell, who insisted: "It's a team game. We win together and we draw together. It's just one of those things.

"It came at him very fast and he couldn't sort his feet out.

"But I thought he played well.

"He was a handful when he came on. We were a bit more direct and it paid off for us, we had more chances when he was on the park."

And Caldwell backed the Wolves striker to bounce back from the now infamous sitter and find the back of the net for Scotland in the future.

He added: "He is a striker and he is always going to miss chances. The best players in the world miss chances.

"It shouldn't be a problem for him, he will come back from it and I'm sure he will score goals for Scotland."

Scotland now have just four points from three games against Macedonia, Iceland and Norway - before they even face group favourites Holland.

"It's a blow," admitted Caldwell.

"We wanted to win the game but there are a lot of games left and still plenty to play for so we will keep on fighting.

"It's going to be difficult but it was always going to be tough.

"We have away games now that we have to win and the Holland game at home is also going to be very important.

"We have to keep plugging away and see what happens."