Scotland failed to emulate their previous European Championship start, when they won 2-1 in Kaunas, but were superior in every department other than finishing.

"It's not the end of the world - we were the better side and just lacked a goal," Levein said.

"The biggest plus factor was the effort the players put in. It was important we showed everyone over here and back home that we really are proud to be involved in the Scottish national team.

"I was happy with the amount of times we won the ball and pressed up the pitch."

Levein would no doubt have been content had someone told him before his first competitive match in charge that his side would create a handful of decent opportunities.

The best arguably came four minutes after the interval when Kenny Miller headed straight at the goalkeeper from 12 yards following a cross from Barry Robson, who forced several saves from long range.

Steven Naismith, a surprise inclusion ahead of James McFadden, lacked conviction when presented with two reasonable chances from the edge of the box, although he otherwise repaid Levein's faith with a hard-working performance.

That was exactly what the former Dundee United manager had demanded after Scotland's poor sequence of away results continued with a 3-0 friendly defeat in Sweden last month. The inclusion of 40-year-old Davie Weir, who became Scotland's oldest capped player, prompted much negative debate about the state of Scotland's defensive options.

But Weir and the recalled Stephen McManus both produced assured performances in central defence as Scotland kept their first clean sheet away from home since their famous win over France in September 2007.

The only time Allan McGregor was forced to prove his quality came after veteran Rangers stopper Weir was hacked down by Saulius Mikoliunas without punishment from Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakira, whose leniency with the Lithuanians exasperated Levein.

"I think Allan McGregor made one save in the match and that was after a blatant free-kick that we should have had," Levein said.

"We had opportunities to win the game. Coming away from home in this competition is always difficult and all we lacked for our effort was a goal.

"I know we can play much better but I was really pleased with our effort and it's something for us to work on."

Levein explained his decision to omit McFadden was purely tactical and nothing personal against the Birmingham player, whose match-winning moments for Scotland include that night in Paris three years ago.

"I went for people who had loads of energy and that worked to a certain regard because we had a plan to win the ball as high up the pitch as possible," said Levein, whose medical staff will assess a calf injury suffered by Steven Whittaker.

"We did that regularly but that only came from working as a team and pressing as a team. James' assets are enormous, he is somebody who can win a game out of nothing.

"The way I set out the team was to try to be as solid as possible then for him to come on and make a difference. I thought he did well."