It started with rancour and recrimination but as it comes to an end, Scotland women’s European Championship campaign has proven to be of a restorative nature.
In April, when the team kicked off their Euros with a goalless draw against Serbia – whom they now face at Firhill on Tuesday night as they conclude their campaign – Pedro Martinez Losa was so irked at the questioning of results that he queried whether or not there was a private agenda at play.
The draw against the Serbs was the culmination of a sequence of results that had stretched to eight games without a competitive win, a run that had come on the back of a dispiriting and winless Nations League campaign.
If there was an unease around the squad and the direction they were going in, it has now dissipated with how the team have performed after stepping down a level. The woeful Nations League display meant a relegation into Group B2, a move that has proved to offer some sanctuary.
Scotland’s win over Slovakia on Friday night as a biblical storm suspended the game by 40 minutes ensured they stay top of their group with just one game remaining, virtue of a better goal difference of three over Serbia, as they look to consolidate that place ahead of the autumn play-offs.
Friday’s win was more than just the points and the place at the top. The fourth successive victory offered a very different sequence of results than the one they took into this campaign. It is the first time in six years that they have enjoyed such a run and has been a balm to the wounds left by the Nations League and the failure to qualify for last year’s World Cup.
While the optics all look good, the issue is that the gulf between elite level and Scotland has not gone anywhere. Martinez Losa’s side will discover their play-off fate when the draw is made on Friday for their autumn games and these will offer another potential exposure to top-level teams.
Martinez Losa suggested on Friday that his side have proved to everyone that they are a team. His reference came on the back of the disruptions they have faced against Israel at Hampden when kick-off was delayed after a protester had chained themselves to a goalpost and then again on Friday night when they spent 40 minutes wondering whether the game would be abandoned in Nitra.
But the real challenges that this team have come through have been on the park. The doomed World Cup play-off when Ireland progressed to Australia seemed to haunt this side for months afterwards, the failure a shrill accompaniment into the Nations League.
The play-offs will be a chance for Scotland to show exactly how they have progressed and learned because there is little doubt that they will be back into elite territory. They will benefit from these past few months, from the restoration of confidence and from a belief that comes only through winning games. How far that goes remains to be seen.
Certainly, though, there will be a major benefit come autumn and the play-offs getting underway and that is the return of Caroline Weir and Emma Watson. The latter is an exciting young talent who offers something a little different but Weir can genuinely be bracketed as Scotland’s world-class performer.
The 29-year-old is set to resume full pre-season training with Real Madrid before the slow return to proper match fitness. It is unquantifiable what Scotland missed without Weir. It would be remiss to place qualification for next year’s Euros squarely on one player but Scotland’s hand is immeasurably stronger with her back in the mix.
Attendances these past few months have shone a light on a lethargy around the women’s game with numbers concerningly low. A major tournament is the quickest way to inject an immediate energy and buzz around the squad.
AND ANOTHER THING
Pedro Martinez Losa described Mia MacAulay has a “street player” last week as he called the 17-year-old into the senior Scotland set-up.
The Rangers kid had an exceptional debut season last term, deservedly claiming the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
It would be fantastic to see her given a chance against Serbia at Firhill on Tuesday.
Whether she makes her debut or not, however, there is no doubt that she will have some involvement in the coming months.
AND FINALLY
Glasgow City have advertised two communications and marketing jobs this week as they look to refresh things behind the scenes.
The salaries on offer for a club that is entirely self-sufficient and doesn’t have the resources that come from an affiliation to an established men’s club are competitive and fair for the roles they are looking for.
Interestingly, they are also offering fairer pay than some men’s top-flight clubs for similar roles.
