Scotland were comfortably brushed aside by Portugal in Wednesday's 2-0 friendly loss but manager Berti Vogts saw some positive signs from his inexperienced side.

The Scots were outclassed in the early stages and a brace from Bordeaux striker Pauleta inside the opening 18 minutes saw the Euro 2004 hosts coast to victory.

Despite managing just one shot on target all night, Vogts was upbeat about Scotland's performance against the side ranked 11 in the world.

It is great for us to be playing against these players Scotland's Christian Dailly

"We were very nervous at the start, but it was a big step in the right direction," said Vogts.

"It was a very good experience for us."

The last time the nations met Portugal were 5-0 winners and the early signs suggested a similar thrashing as Scotland were overwhelmed on a rain-soaked pitch.

But the Scots dug in and defended resolutely for the remainder of the match, although their task was made easier by the home nation chosing to substitute a number of their star names.

An injury to Aberdeen defender Russell Anderson forced a switch after 22 minutes with Derek McInnes added to the side and Christian Dailly moving back to a more accustomed defensive role from midfield.

Anderson ended up in hospital with concussion after a first-half clash of heads but Vogts said the news from the hospital was that the player was "fine".

An additional midfielder gave the Scots a more balanced look, with Vogts having opted to field several players out of their normal positions.

With Steven Thompson suspended for Scotland's next Euro 2004 qualifier at home to Iceland, it was a chance to asses other striking options.

However, Scotland offered very little going forward and West Brom's Scott Dobie and Stevie Crawford were starved of service.

"We stayed in position better and, after 20 minutes, we did not play badly," continued Vogts.

Berti Vogts saw reasons to be cheerful

"And to get two or three chances in an away game against a good team is not bad," he said referring to a good strike from Graham Alexander and tamer efforts from Dobie and Dailly.

Dailly also thought the match was a positive experience.

"I think we did pretty well but we gifted a couple of goals away," said the West Ham man.

"They handled the pitch better a bit better but when we got into the game we started to cause them more problems.

"It is great for us to be playing against these players.

"I think we did ourselves a lot of credit and it was a great experience."