AN ASTONISHING match and a reverberating result for Scottish rugby. Frank Hadden's side silenced the 45,000 capacity crowd in the Velez Sarsfield stadium in Buenos Aires and they probably left a few in the Scottish camp grasping for words as well. Yet just in their moment of triumph there was a bitter, bitter twist in the tail, as Argentine winger Horacio Agull sped over in injury time to score the try that denied the Scots the margin of victory they craved.

A win by more than 15 points would have levered Scotland into the top eight of the world rankings, a status that could have brought a more favourable draw for the 2011 World Cup. Given the commitment that was evident in Argentina's second-half fightback, the result was a decent reflection of the game as a whole, but the finish was none the less maddening for that. It was a cruel way to bring down the curtain on a long and challenging season.

It is rare in this day and age for the wind to be much of a factor in a Test match at this level, but the Velez Sarsfield Stadium's open aspect meant a powerful breeze blew from one end of the pitch to the other. The fact it was in Scotland's favour in the first half meant the tourists had a strong incentive to get the first points on the board, and they showed their early intent with powerful runs at the heart of the Argentine defence by Hugo Southwell and John Barclay, both of whom had been drafted into the side after the defeat in Rosario last weekend.

When the Scots did bring the scoreboard to life, it was from the more familiar source of Chris Paterson, who took an age to compose himself over his first penalty attempt, in the seventh minute, before clipping it between the posts. As welcome as the points must have been to the Scottish coaching team, it was more reassuring still that the opportunity was earned when Argentina, for so long the poster boys of set-piece play, crumpled in an early scrum.

Argentina had a chance to level things shortly afterwards when Simon Webster was penalised for a tackle on Federico Aramburu that was marginally high and comprehensively bone-crunching. The dazed Aramburu, who had only just come on as a replacement for the dazed Gonzalo Tiesi, recovered his senses just in time to watch Federico Teodeschini push the resultant penalty wide of the posts, a considerable let-off for the Scots.

That sequence set Scotland up nicely at the end of the first quarter, and things became better still when they collected their first try just three minutes after that mark had been passed. It sprang from a less than promising position in the middle, but Phil Godman delivered a sublimely angled kick to the left corner where Lucas Borges made a pig's ear of trying to run the ball back and was duly met by a posse of Scottish tacklers. John Barclay piled in to do what he does best, stripping the ball away from the grounded and dumbfounded Borges. From there, Ben Cairns tried a breenge down the touchline, Mike Blair followed up to make a few more yards and the Scottish forwards piled in to drive Ross Ford over for the touchdown that Paterson, almost inevitably, converted to put the Scots 13-0 in front.

If that scoreline seemed improbable enough, it became even better for Frank Hadden's side when Paterson propelled his third penalty over the bar in the 37th minute. Significantly, it was awarded after a stupid attack by Juan Fernandez Lobbe on the grounded Scottish goal-kicker, as clear a sign as any that the Argentineans were becoming frustrated. Fernandez Lobbe had been the man of the match in Rosario, but by now he was being comprehensively outplayed by his opposite number Barclay.

And that theme continued to the end of the half. In the closing seconds of the first period, Argentina mounted what seemed to be their first sustained attack of the game, working the ball through the phases near the left touchline. When they spun it wide, Felipe Contepomi made a spearing run through the middle, where he was held up by a Graeme Morrison tackle. According to the script, Contepomi's team-mates should have piled in with their support, but instead it was Barclay who was first to the scene, his attempt to recover possession forcing the Argentines to give away the penalty that duly ended the half.

Argentina should have clawed back some of the deficit in the 44th minute, but again Todeschini struck his penalty effort wide. For the home crowd, the Pumas were a frustatingly fitful spectacle, but after Euan Murray and Contepomi had handbagged each other into the sin bin they finally made a dent on the scoreboard when Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe powered through for a try following sustained pressure on the Scottish line.

If the score animated the crowd, it did even more for the Argentine team who began to play with a pace and commitment that had been glaringly absent.

But just when it seemed that the Scots were being stretched to breaking point, they rebounded superbly with a length-of-pitch score that virtually cemented victory. It arrived when Argentina lost possession after an attacking scrum, and it owed everything to a long sprint by Dan Parks, a recent arrival in place of Godman, who raced away with the loose ball and just kept on racing all the way to the other 22. Parks looked to have the legs to finish the job, but he lobbed it infield to Graeme Morrison who sprinted the last few yards.

Paterson's conversion took Scotland to 26-7, a precious and, potentially, massively significant 19 points in front. But Agulla was to have the last laugh, his try then duly converted.

Argentina: B Stortoni; L Borges, G Tiesi, F Contepomi (captain), H Agulla; F Todeschini, N Vergallo; M Ayerza, A Tejeda, S Gonzalez Bonorino, I Fernandez Lobbe, E Lozada, M Durand, J Fernandez Lobbe, J M Leguizamon Subs used: J Gómez, J Stuart, A Galindo, F Aramburu, F Serra.
Scotland: H Southwell; C Paterson, B Cairns, G Morrison, S Webster; P Godman, M Blair (captain); A Jacobsen, R Ford, E Murray, M Mustchin, S MacLeod, A Strokosch, J Barclay, A Hogg Subs used: D Hall, A Dickinson, A Kellock, K Brown, R Lawson, D Parks, N De Luca.

Referee: A Rolland (Ireland)