Barry Bannan insists Scotlands quest to reach the 2018 World Cup finals was not stopped in its tracks with the 3-0 defeat against Slovakia on Tuesday evening. Gordon Strachans side went into the Group F qualifier in Trnava under some pressure after dropping two points in their second fixture against Lithuania at Hampden last Saturday, where it took an 89th-minute equaliser from substitute James McArthur to earn a 1-1 draw.However, there was to be no redemption in Slovakia as Scotland slipped to fourth place in the table on four points, three behind leaders England who drew 0-0 in Slovenia. Robert Mak opens the scoring for Slovakia A Robert Mak double and a header from Adam Nemec left the visitors well beaten and, ahead of the trip to Wembley on November 11, prospects of reaching their first major finals since 1998 already look in the balance.However, the Sheffield Wednesday midfielder remains confident, telling BBC Sport: Its not over, all the teams are closely matched in this group. England dropped points in Slovenia and we dropped points in Slovakia.Its our fault, because were the ones who are out there losing games. We are disappointed at the moment. Well get ourselves back to our clubs and try to perform, then the next time we meet up well try to look at where we wentwrong on this trip. Mak adds a second as a static Scotland defence looks on Every game in this group is going to be massive because the teams are so closely matched and it [England game] is a game well look forward to, its the arch enemy.Everybodys disappointed, as you can imagine, but theres only three points from us to England. We made it tough for ourselves and were going to have to get a result from somewhere, and were confident of doing that. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. Strachans men started confidently but fell behind to Maks opener after 18 minutes, although Scotland might have been awarded a free-kick for a challenge on striker Steven Fletcher seconds earlier at the other end.Mak grabbed his second shortly after the break with the Scotland defence in disarray and a similarly static rearguard stood and watched as Nemec headed home a third from a corner. Scotland players look dejected after Slovakias third goal The goals werent great, they were avoidable, said Bannan. You dont mind losing to a wonder hit, but to lose goals that you know you dont have to lose hurts more.I thought we played well in the first half but lost a silly goal when they hit us on the counter. It could have been a foul in the build-up to the first goal, which knocks you a bit, but in the second half we have been caught from our corner on the counter.We have to look at it, but when they go 2-0 up it kills us because wed been in the game right up until that point.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the British Masters on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: Scotland latest Scotland stats Table Live on Sky Jerome Robinson Jersey . The CFL unveiled its 2014 schedule Wednesday and the Redblacks will play their first-ever regular-season game in Winnipeg against the Blue Bombers on July 3. DeAndre Jordan Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. 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Bester grabbed an early lead before Scotlands Darren Burnett took over and ran away with the mens singles lawn bowling final 21-9 on Friday.MONTREAL -- Head coach Michel Therrien called Carey Price his "closer," referring to a baseball pitcher whose job it is to preserve a slim advantage late in the game and secure a win. With the Canadiens leading by one to start the third period, Price turned away 16 shots by the Panthers in the final frame to give Montreal a 2-1 victory over Florida on Monday night. The Panthers (16-21-6) outshot Montreal 16-10 in the final frame, but were repeatedly frustrated by Price, who made 26 saves on the night. "The Panthers gave a big push in the third," said Therrien. "Again, Carey Price was solid. He shut the door. There was no way in his mind the Panthers would score another against him. I really liked his reaction. "He played really well. He was like a closer in baseball." Price frustrated 11 different Panthers players in the third period, including four shots by Sean Bergenheim, who was Floridas lone scorer on the night. "We relied on him a little more than we would have liked to in the third," said Brendan Gallagher of Prices 16-save period. "But hes done that all year. Hes there for us when we need him." Before the barrage of shots in final period, the Canadiens (25-14-5) took the lead for good at 15:46 of the second when captain Brian Gionta beat Tim Thomas in the roof of the net. Panthers captain Ed Jovanovski started the play by giving the puck away softly behind the Florida net to Tomas Plekanec, who fed a wide-open Gionta for his seventh goal of the year. Jovanovski was back in the Panthers lineup after undergoing hip surgery last April. He made his season debut on Saturday in a win over the Nashville Predators. "Its his second game since March," said Florida head coach Peter Horachek about Jovanovski, who missed 83 games with the injury. "Its late in the game, he fanned on the pass. That stuff is going to happen sometimes. "I think hes done a good job for the amount of time hes been out. Its a process. I think he would like to have (that pass) back." Montreal opened the score at 6:23 of the first period on the teams first shot on net. David Desharnnais took a pass from Max Pacioretty while crossing the blue-line to start the play, fanned on the initial shot, but recovered to score his sixth goal of the year, on the backhand.dddddddddddd The fan on the first shot forced Thomas out of position for the second. "I tried staying with the puck, to get any kind of shot I could," said Desharnais. "Usually the goaltender will be well positioned there. He was a little off. I know he wasnt where he was supposed to be. I tried bringing it back on my backhand, and (Thomas) was already on the ground." Montreal gained momentum after the goal, outshooting Florida 9-0 over the next 10 minutes. But it was the Panthers that equalized against the run of play. Bergenheim beat Price at 17:09 with a backhand goal similar to Desharnaiss earlier shot. Rookie Aleksander Barkov had an assist on the goal, his team-leading 15th of the year, to extend his point streak to six games -- the longest point streak by a rookie in Panthers history. Bergenheim almost gave the Panthers the lead a minute later, but his shot rang off the crossbar. The win was Montreals first against Florida this season. The Panthers beat the Habs twice last month -- a 4-1 victory in Florida, and a 2-1 win at the Bell Centre. "We generated a lot of chances, but nothing went in," said Tomas Fleischmann. "We won our last two games against them, and we felt that we could get the points tonight too. "Tonight they were fresh, and you could feel they were a different team than before. We expected that. But it took us a little longer to get adjusted to it. We felt like we could get the points tonight." The Panthers and Canadiens meet for the fourth and final time this season on March 29 in Sunrise, Fla. Notes: Ryan White missed the game due to an upper-body injury sustained on Thursday against the Dallas Stars. He is expected to be out two weeks. a Pacioretty finished the game with nine shots on net. a Hockey Canada will announce its Olympic roster on Tuesday. Montreals Price and defenceman P.K. Subban are expected to make the cut. a The Canadiens head to Philadelphia to face the Flyers on Wednesday. ' ' '