Scotland v Belarus

Scotland 2-1 Belarus
2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifying – UEFA Group 2
Falkirk Stadium
Thursday 7th June 2018

It’s the penultimate home qualifier of the campaign for Scotland, and a change in venue having played the previous two games in Paisley. The trip to Falkirk after work isn’t a particularly arduous one, and with the promise of free ice cream at the pre match fanzone, it was off to the Falkirk Stadium once again for Kaitlin and myself.

The Venue

I have gone into my thoughts on this ground here and here, and therefore don’t really have a whole lot more to say about it. I will say that there was a really good atmosphere built up in the Main Stand tonight, despite the official attendance suggesting that it was only around half full.

The Teams

This is the first game Scotland have played since I last saw them take on Poland back in April. Going into the game, Scotland sit second in Group 2, with 9 points from four games. Lana Clelland of UPC Tavagnacco and Lizzie Arnot of Hibs have been welcomed back to the squad following long term injuries.

Belarus go into the game bottom of the table, with just three points from five games, their only win coming in their home game against Albania. The reverse fixture saw Scotland pick up a 2-1 win in Minsk back in October. Belarus’ starting line up had an impressive four players named Anastasia.

The Game

Oh boy, this was a frustrating one. Despite absolutely dominating possession and having effort after effort on goal, Scotland just could not find a way through.

With just two minutes gone it was almost the perfect start as Kim Little flashed a low cross across the face of the goal which somehow managed to evade everyone. Three minutes later, Claire Emslie sent a cross in after a marauding run down the left which Belarus goalkeeper Natalia Voskobovich punched clear inches from the head of Jane Ross. Just a minute later, Ross had another chance when she shot on the turn on the edge of the box, but Voskobovich got down well to save.

It was wave after wave of chances for Scotland and with 13 minutes gone, Little headed just wide from a great cross from Emma Mitchell. Three minutes later, Caroline Weir pounced on the ball after some slack Belarus defending but her 30 yard strike went just over the bar. With 19 minutes played, Weir and Lisa Evans linked up well on the right hand side before working the ball to Erin Cuthbert in the box. Cuthbert’s shot was saved well by Voskobovich and rebounded to Little, who saw her effort agonisingly cleared off the line by Anastasia Shcherbachenia. The chances kept coming for Scotland and with 23 minutes gone Mitchell’s cross was missed by the onrushing Ross, and bounced harmlessly wide off the knee of Cuthbert. The 2,000 in attendance could not believe how the home side weren’t ahead.

With 26 minutes played, the stadium was stunned into silence when Jen Beattie’s pass was misplaced to Karina Olkhovik, who struck a looping shot over the head of Lee Alexander from 30 yards off the underside of the bar and into the net. It was a fantastic strike from the 17 year old for her first international goal, but it was completely against the run of play, with the position of the shot just about as close as the visitors had got to Scotland’s goal for the entire game.

Scotland thought they had hit back almost immediately, but Ross was judged to be offside from Cuthbert’s cross and saw her effort disallowed. With 32 minutes played, it looked like it was going to be one of those nights, when Ross struck the post from the corner of the box, and Evans somehow saw her follow up come off the bar. Scotland continued to press for an equaliser, but Belarus’ defence was proving resolute and Voskobovich was commanding her area well.

Emslie was switched from the left win to the right and immediately began causing issues for Belarus, with a 42nd minute shot from just inside the box being saved by Voskobovich. A minute later, she rattled a 20 yard effort off the bar with Voskobovich well beaten. It was unfortunately the last significant contribution for Emslie though, as she was replaced by Fiona Brown at half time after picking up a heavy knock. As stoppage time began it looked like Scotland were somehow going to go into the break behind, but a moment of magic from Cuthbert brought the sides level. She picked the ball up on the right wing, cut inside and headed for the byeline. It looked like she had taken the ball too far, but squeezed the ball past Voskobovich from what looked like an impossible angle to make it 1-1 at halftime.

The second half started very much in the same vein as the first had ended, with Scotland peppering the Belarus goal, but not being able to find a way in. On 48 minutes, Rachel Corsie’s header from Little’s cross was deflected wide, and two minutes later Brown just couldn’t get enough contact on Kirsty Smith’s cross to trouble Voskobovich. Another two minutes later, Ross found herself in a good position before playing Weir in inside the box. Weir cut the ball back to Little, but her shot was squiffed harmlessly wide. And on 54 minutes, a good old fashioned goalmouth scramble saw some incredible last ditch defending from Belarus, and against all odds the ball was cleared to safety.

With 64 minutes played, Scotland finally made another breakthrough. Brown picked the ball up on the left wing and ran directly at the defence before cutting inside. She cut the ball back to Cuthbert who slid the ball under Voskobovich to make it 2-1. It was becoming the Cuthbert show, and just two minutes after taking the lead, she broke on the left but couldn’t find a team mate with her cutback.

Belarus had a second chance through Olkhovik when she latched onto a long ball and found herself bearing down on goal. Lee Alexander rushed out of her box and dealt well with the danger. Scotland once again pushed forward, but with much less urgency, and the game slowed down considerably.

Scotland’s tempo dropped, and Belarus couldn’t get hold of the ball to cause any problems. Scotland didn’t really create much going forward either, but Cuthbert continued to look dangerous, and Beattie saw a late header cleared off the line. It was a solid, but frustrating 3 points for Scotland, who go to Poland on Tuesday, hoping to keep the pressure on Switzerland at the top of the group.

The Pies

First off, I need to mention the free ice cream. There was a guy handing out vouchers outside the stadium for a free whippy cone from Fotheringham’s van. The one guy pulling the cones was an absolute hero, with an incredible amount of speed. I an only imagine his invoice to the SFA will have made him a pretty penny, which will be fully deserved. It was an excellent incentive to come and get involved in the game early. The fan zone concept (which also had bouncy castles and trampolines for kids, face painting and injured Hibs captain Joelle Murray signing autographs) is a great way to engage with supporters (especially the younger ones) and get them excited for the game.

I’ve spoken about Falkirk’s pies before, and the steak pie and macaroni pies we had tonight were great as usual. We branched out and tried their cheeseburgers tonight as well. For a cheeseburger at a football stadium, it’s pretty excellent. I also have to commend Falkirk for keeping their prices so reasonable, for which are very high standard concessions.

Admission: £5
Programme: Free (many of them coming with a free signed photo of Joelle Murray)
Pie: £1.90 – £2.50 (Cheeseburger £2.70)
Bovril: £1.60
Attendance: 2,007