A goal that comes with the last kick of the ball will always lend itself to some exuberance but in the aftermath of Scotland’s draw against Belgium at Hampden there was ample food for thought.
Not that the importance of Sophie Howard’s 94th minute goal can be discounted. With The Netherlands claiming a surprise win over England, the group is still fairly open with last night’s draw preventing Pedro Martinez Losa’s side from being cast adrift at the bottom of the table.
With the Dutch up next in a double header next month that will be pivotal in shaping the group, it is imperative that Scotland seek to absorb the lessons of the last two games.
Clearly, the loss of the hugely influential Caroline Weir was always going to have an effect on Scotland but even after the Real Madrid midfielder was forced off, Martinez Losa’s side dominated.
Their failure to convert chances has cost them dearly in recent campaigns and, with a soft centre at the back, it is always liable to run the risk of coming back to bite them.
Certainly, it is not something that has been lost on the squad. Goalkeeper Lee Gibson celebrated her 50th Scotland cap on Tuesday night and will have a story to go with it as her deep free-kick set up the leveller but the late drama did not prevent her from seeing the bigger picture.
“It is more disappointing than anything else, I would say,” said Gibson. “We started well, we had some good chances and if we go up at that point then it takes the pressure off us.
“I think it was one of those games we knew we really had to try and take the win because we had targeted nine points from the home games.
“We felt we deserved better. It was a point gained but it probably felt like two points lost.
“It never felt like we were under too much pressure but we put ourselves in trouble with mistakes on the ball. We switched off with the goal in the second phase, similar to what happened on Friday where the ball was back post and we didn’t pick up.
“We need to learn quickly. It is small margins and these teams will punish you.”
Goalscorer Howard felt that was a bit more time Scotland may well have gone on to score a winner and take full spoils.
That is debatable and with news breaking yesterday that Emma Watson has suffered an ACL and will likely be out for the remainder of the season, there remains a question mark over just where the goals come for Scotland.
When that toothlessness up front is married to defensive lapses, there is always a sense of foreboding in games which is amplified when up against teams of substantially better quality.
It was evident across the last two games with Kassandra Missipo getting her head onto a deep cross to the back post with ease while England, at their second goal in particular, found the marking equally soporific.
“We conceded daftly but we are still in it,” said Howard. “We take the point and now look to the Netherlands. We kept telling ourselves to stay calm.
“I do think that goal is what we are about. That is our character and we are here to compete.”
“As for the goal, I knew I just had to get a touch on it and hope that the keeper came for it. When I saw the ball was in, I was a little bit excited but I was gutted at the time because we wanted to push for another one.
“You can see us running back to get the ball down but we just ran out of time.
“Across the two games we have felt we could have got more than we did. That is promising but we need to be aware that performances don’t get you points that you feel you deserve.
“We need to make sure we are getting points."
