Scotland Women's head coach Pedro Martinez Losa admitted "it was not the nicest game to watch" as his side drew 0-0 with Finland in their Euro 2025 play-off first leg on Friday night.
The national team drew a crowd of almost 9,000 at Easter Road, yet they were treated to a tense 90 minutes with many of Scotland's star players failing to shine.
Martinez Losa's squad, aiming for their first major tournament under his leadership, struggled to create many clear-cut chances. While at the other end, Linda Sallstrom's lob in the first half showcased the skills of Scotland's goalkeeper Eartha Cumings, who also made key saves either side of half-time.
The pair will meet again in Helsinki on Tuesday, where Scotland will go again in their quest to qualify for their second European Championship tournament and their first major finals since the 2019 World Cup.
Speaking after stalemate, the Spaniard confessed that the result arguably suits both teams, suggesting that Scotland were glad to have remained in the tie ahead of the return leg next week.
He said: "From the outside you might have your own views on the game, how good we were, how good was the opponent. But we knew very well the patterns of Finland and that they could be very dangerous.
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"Most of the time we saw the situation perfectly. Obviously not conceding a goal is great, probably for both teams, to go into the second leg.
"It was a game of duels, it was a game of a lot of tactical situations to win, and I think it was probably from the fans' perspective, it was not the nicest game to watch in one aspect.
"We and both teams in some moments played very direct. We tried to play also but our players seemed to have difficulties to progress as well as Finland.
"So, I think we will both have feelings the same."
But the Scots boss has explained his reasoning for making the seemingly bold decision with his team still level.
"Martha has been sick for the last three days and just trained on Friday," he told BBC Scotland.
"It was agreed that as soon as she lost energy, we would have another plan.
“I think Emma has been training fantastic, it's a different kind of player, but yeah that was the thinking."
