THERE was something typically Scottish about the manner in which our thriving women's football team squandered a position of strength to end up losing the biggest game in their history yesterday.
But despite the fact they must now overturn a 3-2 deficit in Russia on Thursday if they are to qualify for their first-ever major finals – the European Championships in Finland next year – Anna Signeul's team can at least console themselves with th
e fact the occasion of the first leg of their play-off went a long way to enhancing the already burgeoning profile of women's football in Scotland.
The squad had enjoyed unprecedented media exposure in the days leading up to the showdown, so it was little surprise that a record attendance was registered at Tynecastle as 1,492 hardy souls braved the cold to turn out and lend their support. While the crowd was heavily populated with family and friends of the players, the magnitude of the match and the fact it was being staged in Edinburgh instead of their usual Perth manor had clearly attracted curious interlopers keen to see what all the fuss was about. BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound team were in attendance, while the BBC Alba cameras were there to beam the match live; evidence enough that this was no ordinary clash for Scotland's women. Entering such a cataclysmic showdown against a side ranked 11 places above them – the Russians are 15th – without their free-scoring captain, Julie Fleeting, who was suspended, it wouldn't have been the biggest surprise had the Scots been completely overwhelmed by the occasion.
But within two minutes of Scott Wilson, Tynecastle's resident PA announcer, whipping the fans – the majority of whom were housed in the top tier of the Wheatfield Stand – into a frenzy with his trademark roar of "Let's make some noise", the hosts forged ahead. Pauline Hamill's effort had just enough force to crawl over the line despite the Russian goalkeeper getting a strong hand to it, prompting a euphoric din which belied the fact the stadium was less than a tenth full.
Scotland's joy was short-lived as Russia silenced this little pocket of Gorgie with a fine equaliser two minutes later, but then Hamill curled home a peach of a free-kick after 12 minutes. Russia levelled again with a penalty after half an hour, but it was something of a travesty that the Scots were unable to make their first-half superiority count.
Possibly flustered by the injustice of not being ahead, the hosts found themselves on the back foot for much of the second half and duly conceded a potentially decisive goal with 16 minutes left. They laid siege to the Russian goal in the closing stages, but were unable to find the equaliser that would have been the least their overall play merited. A monumental performance is now required in the city of Nalchik on Thursday, although the Scots will be comforted by the fact they can now call on the services of the inspirational Fleeting for a match against opponents who, on yesterday's evidence, looked anything but formidable.
