Nine-man Scotland Under-21s held in six-goal thriller as players and staff involved in heated exchanges

Scot Gemmill’s side had Jeremiah Mullen and Dire Mebude sent off in Baku but Sam Cleall-Harding was close to sealing three points with the last kick of the ball, moments after heading a stoppage-time equaliser.

The Scots were the better side in Baku but paid the price for failing to deal with three long balls and receiving at least one harsh red card in the 3-3 draw.

Gemmill said: "We're definitely not happy with the officials and we will be making an official complaint via the delegate. But of course that won't help us over the result. It was difficult to accept.

"We just felt there were too many mistakes from the officials so there was no point getting involved during the game. We will do it the right way. Sadly, I think what happened in the end was very predictable. I knew it was going to happen. It was a crazy game.

"We showed really good team spirit to not accept defeat and to come back late on, but there was also a lot of inexperience in the performance as well.

"We were 2-1 up at one point. The players were challenged and encouraged not to put themselves in a position where we were chasing the game and we weren't good enough to do that.

"So there was a lot of learning for the players. This was certainly a game they won't forget."

Scotland started well and Mullen failed to connect with a free header from David Watson’s corner before the hosts went in front in the seventh minute with a brilliant curling finish off the post from 22 yards from Khayal Aliyev.

Emilio Lawrence and Colby Donovan shot over from tight angles as Scotland pressed for an equaliser and it arrived in the 33rd minute. Lawrence collected the ball on the left wing, turned inside a defender and let fly from 25 yards. The shot struck the back of captain Watson and nestled in the corner.

The Kilmarnock midfielder turned provider a minute before half-time when Dundee defender Luke Graham headed home his near-post corner. The lead did not last long after the break. Mullen slightly under-hit a back-pass after a ball over the top but goalkeeper Ruairidh Adams looked favourite to reach it anyway and cleared.

But the Dunfermline centre-back was shown a straight red card after putting his hand on the shoulder of Aliyev, who took full advantage by throwing himself to the ground. Scotland suffered further punishment when Mebude stuck his elbow out to block the resulting free-kick and Aliyev converted the 47th-minute penalty.

Watson’s corners continued to cause problems and Cleall-Harding headed off the bar from two yards before sub Ryan One came close. Cleall-Harding then gave away possession close to his penalty box and Shahin Ibrahimov curled home from 22 yards via a deflection.

The game became increasingly feisty and Scotland equalised when Dundee United defender Cleall-Harding glanced home a header from Christy Montgomery’s cross. Mebude was shown a second yellow card in the immediate aftermath following an incident with an opposition player after he raced to retrieve the ball from the net.

But Cleall-Harding had a late chance when he blasted over before claiming his initial headed effort had been blocked by a hand. Both sets of players and staff were involved in heated exchanges after the full-time whistle and Aliyev was shown a post-match red card.

The result, which came five days after a record 12-0 win over Gibraltar, leaves Scotland fourth in Group B with four points from their opening four group fixtures.