Scotland v France

Scotland U19 0-5 France U19
SFA Women’s Under 19 Preparatory Tournament
Simple Digital Arena
Saturday 6th October 2018

With Scotland hosting the 2019 Women’s European Under 19 Championships, the youngsters don’t have to play any qualifiers, and are therefore missing out on important competitive games. This preparatory tournament is therefore giving the girls vital competitive action as well as acting as a test event for the main event next summer.

The Venue

I’ve talked plenty about St Mirren Park on the blog, and regular readers will know I’m a big fan of the place. The fact that it’s being used for the preparatory tournament fills me with real hope that it will be utilised for the finals, as it’s very easily accessible for me.

The Competition

Scotland and France have been joined by Spain and Denmark for this four team, round robin competition. With Scotland hosting the Women’s Under 19 European Championships next summer, this is being used as a test event with games being hosted here, Firhill in Glasgow, East End Park in Dunfermline and McDiarmid Park in Perth. These four venues give an idea of where the games will be played at the finals, although the official venues have yet to be confirmed. All four teams will play each other once in this tournament, which has the double function of giving Scotland’s youngsters somewhat competitive games in the run up to hosting the finals.

The Teams

Scotland carried over several players from last year’s Under 19s, who made the final qualifying round for the 2018 Championships. Notably, Jamie Lee Napier and Lauren Davidson of Hibs, Rangers’ Amy Muir and Leah Eddie and Michaela McAlonie of Spartans have experience in the Under 19s. They started off this tournament against current European Under 19 Champions Spain here in Paisley on Wednesday evening with a 1-0 defeat.

France also have several holdovers from their team who reached the 2018 finals. They started their campaign in Perth on Wednesday afternoon with a 3-2 victory against Denmark.

The Game

The full time nature of the French players was fairly evident right from the kickoff, as they showed a level of fitness and sharpness that was just above the young Scots. This was a very impressive French team, and on this showing, they will be hot contenders for the title should they return to our shores next July. The first chance of the game fell to Sarah Zahot, who headed Jessy Roux’s cross just wide of the post after just three minutes. Zahot had another excellent chance with 9 minutes played when she beat Scottish keeper Emily Mutch to the ball on the edge of the box. Zahot advanced with the ball, but Mutch recovered extremely well to make a good save.

With 18 minutes gone, Scotland were awarded a free kick when the ever lively Jamie-Lee Napier was fouled around 25 yards out. Captain Amy Muir had a shot from distance, but it was comfortably held by French goalkeeper Camille Pinel. France were on the front foot for the majority of the game, and with around 25 minutes gone, Sandy Baltimore forced Mutch into another good save with a pinpoint shot from a very tight angle. The French girls were highly impressive going forward and on the half hour Zahot forced superb blocks from jenna Clark and Leah Eddie in close succession on the edge of the box.

The French were extremely impressive in defence as well as going forward, with Océane Deslandes, Emeline Saint-Georges and Grace Kazadi dealing with everything Scotland could throw at them. Napier and Naomi Welch were working hard up front, but could not find a way past the wall of white shirts that surrounded every opportunity. France took a deserved lead with eight minutes of the first half remaining. Sonia Ouchene picked the ball up on the edge of the box and saw her initial shot blocked by Clark. But the ball rebounded to the French midfielder and she curled an excellent strike into the top corner. It was two just a few minutes later when a superb run from Roux on the right wing ended with an excellent low cross that was turned in by Loreno Azzaro. It was a deserved lead for the French at the break.

Any slim hopes of a Scotland comeback were dashed just three minutes into the second half. A defensive error from Rachel Brown saw the French gifted a corner, which was whipped low into the box by Baltimore. Zahot got her foot onto it and she blasted the ball past Mutch to make it 3-0. With 58 minutes on the clock, Azzaro worked the ball to the byeline and flicked the ball back across goal. Ouchene threw herself at the cross but could only divert her header wide of the post. Two minutes later, Roux ghosted past Muir down the French right wing and sent a low cross into the box that was stabbed just wide by Azzaro.

The introduction of Lauren Davidson for Welch almost paid dividends for Scotland on 67 minutes, as the Hibs forward worked well to send a cross into the box that was well cut out by Deslandes. Six minutes later, there were shouts for a penalty as Napier went down in the box under a challenge from Saint-Georges, but the shouts mainly stemmed from the stands rather than from the pitch.

With nine minutes remaining, the French went further ahead. Substitute Melvine Malard picked the ball up on the edge of the Scottish box and turned well before sending a low shot past Mutch. It was five just two minutes later when Amelie Delabere, who had only just come onto the pitch a matter of seconds before, turned beautifully 25 yards from goal, left Eddie in her wake and fired an unstoppable shot past the despairing Mutch. Whoever was working the scoreboard then had a moment to forget as the score kept going up, at one foint reading 29-0 to France. They were good, but Scotland were by no means bad enough to be that far behind!

Scotland pushed on for a consolation in the final five minutes or so, and the tireless Napier – the undoubted standout player for the Scots – danced past two French defenders only to see her cross cut out before it could reach Davidson. With 87 minutes gone, Scotland were awarded a free kick on the angle of the box as Napier was fouled on another promising looking run. Kaela McDonald-Nguah struck a wonderful effort that came back off the post before hitting Pinel and spinning out for a corner. Davidson had one final chance in stoppage time, but her shot was tame and easily held by pinel after a very decent run. It was a comfortable win for a French side that were full of quality, but despite the result, Scotland coach Pauline Hamill will still be able to find positives from the performance of her young team.

The Pies

I plumped for my standard Paisley steak pie, which as always delivered on texture and taste. Kaitlin had hot dog on the brain after smelling them all night at Braehead last night, so she plumped for one today. Rollover do bloody good hot dogs and this one was no exception. As a side note, look at my spot on sauce work on that dog!

Admission: Free
Programme: None
Pie: £2.60 (steak). £3.10 (hot dog)
Bovril: £1.50
Attendance: 362

Glasgow City v Somatio Barcelona

Glasgow City 0-1 Somatio Barcelona FA (2-1 aggregate)
UEFA Women’s Champions League Round of 32 Second Leg
Petershill Park
Thursday 27th September 2018

There have been some great Champions League nights at Petershill for Glasgow City, and last season’s so close it hurt comeback against BIIK Kazygurt will still be on the minds of many inside the ground tonight. City are in much better shape this year, with a 2-0 win in Cyprus a fortnight ago putting them in pole position to qualify from the tie.

The Venue

There’s no need to talk more about Petershill. There’s plenty of posts detailing it. The big net is taken down for Champions League games, and I wish it stayed down full time!

The Competition

The top 12 nations in the UEFA coefficients have the top two teams in their domestic league qualify for the competition, with the top 8 having both directly qualify for the knockout stage. In addition, the champions from the nations ranked 9-12 have their champions qualify directly. All other nations have their champions (and the runners-up from nations 9-12) enter a series of mini-tournaments, held over a week in a single location. There were ten groups of four, which the winners qualified for the knockout stage, along with the two best runners up.

Annoyingly, Scotland are ranked 13th in Europe, so have only one entrant this season, Glasgow City, who dramatically qualified in the closing minutes of their group. The knockout stage consists of two-legged home and away matches, right up to a one off final in a neutral venue – this year The Groupama Arena in Budapest.

The Teams

Since I last saw City, they have played just once, a comprehensive 6-0 win over Rangers at the weekend. Scott Booth has pretty much his entire squad to choose from this evening, although captain Leanne Ross is suspended after picking up a red card in the first leg.

Somatio Barcelona Football Academy are based on the outskirts of Limassol in Cyprus and were only formed in 2016. They won the Cypriot First Division in only their second season playing football and therefore qualified for the Champions League. They won all three of their qualifying group games in Slovenia against Olimpija Ljubljana, Slovan Bratislava and FC Minsk.

The Game

The tie was blown wide open after just six minutes when Barcelona’s American striker Krystyna Freda broke free of the City defence and slammed a shot high into the net beyond Lee Alexander. The sizeable crowd was silenced, but City didn’t crumble and began to come into the game on their own account.

There were chances at both ends, and in Particular, Ivorian winger Rebecca Elloh was causing serious problems for the City defence with her pace and strength. She also became somewhat of a pantomime villain with her rough housing tactics, and it’s only due to a lack of strength from the referee that she didn’t end up in the book. The shouts from the partisan crowd went a bit over the top at times, but the referee definitely didn’t do enough to stop the elbows and nudges from the Cypriots, and let them away with far too much play acting as well.

But despite the battering they were receiving, City held firm, and Sam Kerr in particular was an absolute star, winning absolutely everything that came her way on the ground and in the air. It was also another remarkably assured defensive performance from 16 year old Carly Girasoli, who was the modicum of calmness, even with the stakes as high as they were. Lee Alexander produced several good saves as the visitors piled forward, but it was to be City’s night despite the second leg result. Such a stark contrast from being eliminated at this stage last year despite a 4-1 home victory.

The Pies

Petershill’s pie stall did an absolute roaring trade tonight, with large queues throughout as the 500 plus crowd tried to keep warm as the temperature plummeted. I had eaten before the game, but couldn’t resist the pull of a portion of chips, which went down an absolute treat.

Admission: £10
Programme: None
Pie: £2
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 511

Scotland v Switzerland

Scotland Women 2-1 Switzerland Women
2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifying – UEFA Group 2
The Simple Digital Arena
Thursday 30th August 2018

It’s a huge night in Paisley as Scotland play their final home qualifier of this World Cup campaign. It’s by far the biggest game of the qualifiers so far, and it’s time to get right behind the team as they aim to qualify for their first World Cup

The Venue

St Mirren Park has had a rebrand since my last visit as part of a four year sponsorship with local IT company Simple Digital Solutions. I’ve heard some criticism of corporate naming rights being sold for stadiums, but to me it can only be a good thing. It allows clubs an extra revenue stream, while making little to no difference to the overall match experience. In fact, in my experience, most fans refer to grounds by their original name or a nickname anyway. We had initially planned to sit in the East Stand tonight, but with a large crowd expected (which ended up being a record for the Scotland women’s side) entrance to the Main and East Stands were designated ticket only, with large queues at the ticket booths. So instead, we plumped to sit in the North Stand, which was operating a cash gate and settled into seats behind the goal, which offered what turned out to be an excellent view.

The Teams

Since I last saw Scotland, the team have played one match, a frantic 3-2 win in Poland, which saw the Scots 2-0 down with twelve minutes remaining before one of the all time great international comebacks. Lisa Evans’ winner in stoppage time will live long in the memory. With Switzerland having won the reverse fixture by one goal to nil, a two goal win would see Scotland top the group. A trip to Albania next Tuesday will complete the qualification group.

Switzerland have a 100% record in this qualifying group so far, and have a vastly superior goal difference to Scotland going into this match. Like Scotland, most of their squad play their domestic football outwith their own league, with a number of players plying their trade in Germany. They will finish the group with a tricky trip to Poland on Tuesday.

The Game

I didn’t take notes tonight, as I was more interested in soaking in the atmosphere and getting behind the team, so this is a much abridged version of my usual match report.

The game absolutely burst into life with just over a minute on the clock. Kim Little pounced as Switzerland tried to play it out from the back and found Lisa Evans, who played the ball through to Erin Cuthbert on the edge of the box. Cuthbert turned before drilling a low shot into the corner of the net via a slight deflection off Luana Bühler. It was the perfect start and it was to get better for Scotland with just five minutes gone. Little played a fantastic one-two with Evans before cutting into the box and firing a shot across goal. The ball once again struck Bühler and nestled into the net inside the front post.

The pulsating start to the match was to continue though as just two minutes later, Switzerland got themselves back into the game through their captain Lara Dickenmann. She found Geraldine Reuteler in space on the left wing and the ball was cut back to Dickenmann who slotted it coolly home from around the penalty spot. The game settled down somewhat going forward, as Switzerland began to find their stride, with Ramona Bachmann in particular causing issues for the Scotland defence. But the home side held firm and went into the break ahead.

The second half saw the Scots throw everything at their opponents, but could not find the breakthrough needed to restore the two goal lead that would have seen them top the group. It was a fantastic effort from the girls, and in hindsight an excellent win. It’s all to play for in the remaining group matches on Tuesday.

The Pies

The pies at St Mirren are usually fantastic, but we didn’t have any tonight on account of having been to Tony Macaroni beforehand. Seriously, their Presto menu is a thing of beauty. Even if we had fancied a pie though, the servery in the North Stand was absolutely stowed at half time, and it looked like quite a few people missed the start of the second half while standing in the queue.

Admission: £5
Programme: Free
Pie: £2.20 (Scotch) £2.60 (Steak, chicken curry, macaroni, cheese & bean)
Bovril: £1.50
Attendance: 4,098

Anderlecht v Górnik Łęczna

RSC Anderlecht Féminin 0-1 GKS Górnik Łęczna
UEFA Women’s Champions League Qualifying Round Group 3
Ainslie Park
Friday 10th August 2018

Glasgow City are the hosts for one of the mini-tournaments that comprise the qualifying stages of this year’s Women’s Champions League. With all the other games taking place while I’m at work, I took advantage of my half day Friday to make the familiar trip to Ainslie Park in order to catch the only game of the competition I’m able to see.

The Venue

Despite Glasgow City being the hosts for this group, the 2018 European Championships taking place in Glasgow at the moment meant that the visiting teams and officials could not be given sufficient accommodation in the city. The decision was therefore made to hold the group in Edinburgh, with Oriam at Heriot-Watt University and here at Ainslie Park being selected as the venues. I wrote about Ainslie Park here so won’t go in to details again. It’s an excellent venue for a game such as this, and always an accommodating and welcoming place to visit.

The Teams

RSC Anderlecht Féminin are the women’s team of the larger RSC Anderlecht club. They were initially formed in 1971 as Brussels Dames 71 before relocating to Anderlecht in 1993. As Anderlecht the club won the Belgian championship three times in the nineties before becoming founder members of the BeNe League, a joint top tier women’s league between Belgium and the Netherlands, in 2012. After three seasons, this league was disbanded and the two nations went back to their own national leagues. Anderlecht won the Super League Vrouwenvoetbal for the first time in the 2017-18 season in order to qualify for the Champions League. They defeated Glasgow City 2-1 in a tightly fought contest on Tuesday to open their campaign.

Polish Champions GKS Górnik Łęczna were formed in 2002, and are part of the larger sports club that shares their name. The first gained promotion to the Ekstraliga Kobiet in 2010 and won their first championship last season, finishing 9 points clear of second placed KKS Czarni Sosnowiec. They dismantled Georgian champions FC Martve 12-0 in their first game of the campaign on Tuesday.

The Game

Glasgow City had defeated Martve 7-0 earlier in the afternoon, meaning an Anderlecht victory would seal qualification. With just four minutes on the clock, the Belgians had the first chance of the match when Tine de Caigny knocked the ball across the face of the goal after reaching the byeline. Ştefania Vătafu arrived at the back post and got her head onto the ball, but it ended up wide of the post. With ten minutes played, Anderlecht were again on the offensive, and a looping deep cross from Sarah Wijnants was met by the head of Ella van Kerkhoven who could only find the side netting with her header.

With 17 minutes on the clock an dreadful header back towards her goalkeeper from Laura Deloose allowed Emilia Zdunek what looked like a glorious one-on-one opportunity against Anderlecht keeper Justien Odeurs. The Polish forward seemed to be lacking confidence though and attempted to square a pass instead of shooting, which was cut out and cleared from danger. Two minutes later, Wijnants played the ball into Elke van Gorp, who was forced wide by the GKS defence, but still managed to draw a decent save from Klaudia Kowalska in goal. With 25 minutes gone, GKS had a chance when Agata Guśicora headed just wide of the post from a wide free kick.

Both sides were lacking in composure in the final third and this showed with just over half an hour gone when Vătafu played in Wijnants, who struggled to deal with the ball in the box and took it far too wide to capitalise on the chance. With 39 minutes gone, a free kick from Anderlecht captain Laura Deneve was missed by everyone including Kowalska, but bounced off the head of de Caigny, who knew nothing about it, and was cleared by GKS.

WIth five minutes remaining in the half, GKS took the lead when Oduers allowed a tame looking effort from Dominika Grabowska wide on the right to slip past her. The ball cannoned back off the post and was turned into the empty net by Sylwia Matysik who was arriving at the back post. Taking the lead seemed to spur the Poles on, with Zdunek and Ewelina Kamczyk both having decent chances, but it remained 1-0 at the break.

Anderlecht came out with a renewed vigour in the second half, and van Kerkhoven had a decent opportunity just 90 seconds after the restart, but hooked her shot wide of the post after getting into a good position. A few minutes later, GKS really should have doubled their lead after a great run on the right hand side from Kamczyk. She played a wonderful ball into Weronika Zawistowska, on as a half time substitute, but the 18 year old spooned her effort way over the top. With 54 minutes gone, Wijnants again found herself in a great position after beating a couple of GKS defenders, but she saw a powerful strike well saved by Kowalska.

Anderlecht were seeing a lot of the ball in the second half, but maintained a lack of composure in the final third and were lacking the cutting edge they required to get back on level terms. GKS were looking dangerous on the counter attack, but also lacking a killer instinct, as shown on 64 minutes. Grabowska played an exellent ball into the box towards Matysik, but she took too long to get the ball under control and eventually had her shot blocked by Deneve.

The final twenty minutes saw Anderlecht try in vain to break down a stubborn GKS defence with no luck. Their best chances came from long range free kicks from Sheryl Merchiers, who’s delivery into the box really deserved better than the return she was getting. With three minutes to play, a Merchiers free kick found the head of van Kerkhoven. The initial header was cleared, but only as far as Vătafu, who struck a shot from around twelve yards that rattled the bar and was scrambled away by the GKS defence. It was as close as Anderlecht came to an equaliser, and the result leaves absolutely everything to play for in Monday’s closing matches in the group, with both of these teams and Glasgow City still able to finish top of the table.

The Pies

The four o’clock kick off time was too late for lunch and too early for dinner, so no pies were had today.

Admission: Free
Programme: None (free teamsheet available)
Pie: £2
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 95 (approx – including the Glasgow City players and coaches)

Orange County v San Antonio

Orange County SC 3-0 San Antonio FC
United Soccer League Western Conference
Championship Soccer Stadium
Saturday 14th July 2018

Kaitlin and I are on holiday! We arrived in Washington State yesterday evening, and flew to Southern California with her family this morning. With the next three days mapped out with excursions to San Diego Zoo, Disneyland and Universal Studios, today is the only chance to get to see a game while over here. As luck would have it, Orange County are playing at home this evening, only a 25 minute drive from the hotel. Let’s see what American “soccer” has to offer.

The Venue

Championship Soccer Stadium (or Championship Soccer Stadium at Orange County Great Park to give its full name) is as suggested, a soccer specific stadium located in Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. The stadium was constructed as phase one of a multi-million dollar sports complex in Great Park and was officially opened in 2017.

The stadium consists of three seated stands, two running the full length of the pitch, and one behind one of the goals. The other end of the ground is used as a fan zone area, with merchandise and one of the many concession stands inside the ground. There are executive and hospitality boxes as well as premium view seats dotted around the main stand, with the seated end being designated as general admission with attractively low admission prices. The stadium has an overall capacity of 5,000, with admission prices varying depending on the location of the seats.

This stadium has been exceptionally designed, and is a wonderful example of a modern football ground. There’s plenty of clubs in Scotland and the rest of the UK who could look at this when building their own ground.

The Teams

The United Soccer League (USL) is designated as Division II in the United States soccer pyramid, although there is no promotion to Division I (Major League Soccer). There are currently 33 clubs playing in two geographic conferences, and the league will expand by five teams next season, although they will also lose FC Cincinnati, who will move to MLS as an expansion club. The teams will play a 34 game regular season before the top eight in each conference go onto the playoffs.

Orange County SC originated in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, linked to the major league women’s side of the same name and the Orange County Blues, a leading LA area youth and amateur setup. The side became known as the Orange County Blues in 2014, before the current name was adopted before the 2017 season. The club have played their entire history as a member of the USL, and were Western Conference champions in 2015. The club are officially affiliated with Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC and their Argentine midfielder Nicolás Czornomaz is on loan at OC. Goalkeeper Luis Lopez also arrived from LAFC on Thursday and gows straight into the side tobight. Orange County also count loan players from three other MLS teams as a part of their ranks this season. Former Danish international Thomas Enevoldsen is currently the league’s joint top scorer.

Orange County are having a pretty good season so far, and are sitting comfortably in the Western Conference playoff positions. The currently sit in fifth place in the Western Conference with 30 points from their 18 games, and are in postion to make the playoffs as things stand. Their US Open Cup participation was limited to just one game, as they were defeated 4-2 by Premier Development League side Golden State Force in the second round.

San Antonio FC were formed in 2016 and are owned by the Spurs Sports and Entertainment group, also owners of NBA heavyweights the San Antonio Spurs. They are based at the 8,296 capacity Toyota Field and have been USL members since their inception. They are affiliated with MLS side New York City FC.

Their season has been up and down so far, and the team currently sit in tenth place in the Western Conference with 22 points from sixteen games. The club do have games in hand over the teams above them in the league table, and will be hopeful of an upturn in league fortunes. They enjoyed a decent run in the US Open Cup, defeating fourth tier Midland-Odessa 4-0 in round two, before knocking out fellow USL side Colorado Springs Switchbacks on penalties in round three. They cam unstuck in the fourth round, when they were beaten by MLS side (and Texas rivals) FC Dallas. The narrow 1-0 defeat was heralded as a fantastic performance by the side.

The Game

It was a fairly slow start to the game, with both sides seeming tentative and spending the first ten minutes or so feeling each other out. San Antonio had a corner cleared easily by the Orange County defence after five minutes, and three minutes later, Mark Segbers cross from the right forced San Antonio keeper Diego Restrepo into a save. Segbers was causing problems for the visitors with his pace and touch, and with fourteen minutes played he sent another dangerous ball into the box that was cut out before it could reach a team mate. San Antonio had a couple of chances of their own around the twenty minute mark. Firstly, Mikey Lopez’s free kick was cleared before it reached the head of Éver Guzmán, and three minutes later a cross from Darnell King was met by Alex Bruce, who saw his shot blocked.

Orange County began to take control of the game, and with 25 minutes played, Michael Seaton found himself in a good position inside the box. He cut the ball back to Segbers who forced Restrepo into a good save. Three minutes later Mats Bjurman floated a free kick into a dangerous area, but Walker Hume headed the ball over the bar. On the half hour mark, Aodhan Quinn shot from just outside the San Antonio area, but the ball was easily held by Restrepo. OC were ahead just two minutes later though when Quinn took advantage of some slack defending and played in Thomas Enevoldsen. The former Denmark international struck a low shot past Restrepo into the back of the net.

OC continued to push after taking the lead and with 35 minutes gone Seaton made a powerful run from the midfield and played in Enevoldsen again. The Dane’s shot was heading towards goal, but a superb block from Cyprian Hedrick kept the deficit at one. San Antonio were struggling to get their foot on the ball but did have a decent chance before halftime when King worked well down the right wing before knocking the ball inside to Guzmán. The Mexican striker hit a low, hard shot but Luis Lopez in the OC goal was equal to it. The home side very nearly doubled their lead two minutes before the break when Enevoldsen made a great run down the right hand side. His shot was blocked and heading wide when Segbers caught up with it and tried an audacious flick that Restrepo only just managed to keep out. OC went into the break well deserving of their one goal lead.

The second half started with major controversy when Seaton was released and found himself bearing down on goal. Restrepo raced out of his box to meet him but mistimed his tackle and took the striker out. It looked for all the world like the keeper would be sent off, but the referee bottled it and showed only a yellow card. The OC players were furious, and made matters worse by totally wasting the resulting free kick. OC were still the better side but seemed to take some time to settle after what they perceived to be a major injustice. Just after the hour, Seaton worked his way into the box again with a strong run, but saw his shot saved after being forced wide. From the resulting corner though, the lead was finally doubled. Walker Hume’s header was cleared off the line and it looked like San Antonio had cleared the danger. But the ball was fired back into the box and knocked in at the front post by Bjurman.

OC were good for their lead, but going two behind sparked San Antonio into life. A freekick from deep on the left was headed back across goal by Hedrick on 66 minutes, but the home side scrambled it clear. Three minutes later, Segbers broke on the counter, but after playing in Enevoldsen, the Dane fired his shot well over the bar. San Antonio continued to press without really threatening the OC goal. With 83 minutes gone, it looked like Bruce was through on goal and knocked the ball over the onrushing Lopez but before he could catch the ball to finish, the whistle had gone for offside. Five minutes later, Segbers launched another counter attack, playing in Giovanni Ramos-Godoy, but the substitute was wasteful with his effort.

As the game entered stoppage time, San Antonio launched one last attempt to salvage something from the game. They won a free kick about 45 yards from goal and Ryan Roushandel surprised everyone by taking a strike. Lopez just about managed to turn the ball over the bar. From the resulting corner, Seaton headed clear. San Antonio saw another corner cleared two minutes into stoppage time to set off one of the finest counter attacking moves I’ve ever seen. Segbers picked the ball up midway inside his own half before driving forward sixty yards leaving multiple defenders in his wake. He cut the ball into the box where it was picked up by substitute Amirgy Pineda. He almost immediately squared the ball off again to Seaton who drilled the ball low into the net to add a third, very much deserved, goal. It really was one of the best counter attack goals I’ve ever witnessed in all my years watching football, and a stunning way to round of the game.

The Pies

We had been to Olive Garden for dinner before driving to Irvine, and as a result I was far too full to even attempt any food. They were selling hot dogs and burgers as well as an extensive (and expensive) drink and snack selection, including a couple of guys wandering round the stands selling popcorn and churros. It’s expensive to eat and drink at American sporting events, but the face on offer does look fairly high quality.

I’m also going to mention that this game was designated as “Gnome Night” which meant we left with one of these natty little garden gnomes. He will be gong straight onto our mantlepiece when we get home.

Admission: $18 (approx. £13.50)
Programme: Free online
Pie: Hot Dog $6 (approx £4.50), Burger $8 (approx. £6)
Bovril: Lemonade $4 (approx. £3), Large (700ml) beer $12 (approx. £9)
Attendance: 2,712

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

Scotland v Poland

Scotland 3-0 Poland
2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifying – UEFA Group 2
St Mirren Park
Tuesday 10th April 2018

A Tuesday night qualifier in Paisley for the second time in this campaign as Scotland reach the halfway stage of this qualifying tournament for next year’s World Cup in France. This will be an unapologetically biased post, I’m sure.

The Venue

St Mirren Park, which is still technically known as the Paisley 2021 Stadium – in a sponsorship deal with Renfrewshire Council to promote the city’s failed bid for UK City of Culture 2021 – sits in Paisley’s west end and is accessible from just off the M8. The stadium was opened in January 2009 when the club sold their previous Love Street ground to Tesco. In my opinion, it’s one of the best examples of a modern, purpose built all seater stadium.

Built with four stands, the ground has a capacity of 8,023. The East Stand, which houses the changing and corporate facilities has a slightly lower capacity than the West, while the North and South stands, which sit behind either goal are virtually identical. All four stands have a fantastic, unobstructed view, with the North Stand being the usual section for away support. Only the East and West stands were open for spectators tonight. The first game at the ground was a Scottish Premier League tie between St Mirren and Kilmarnock on January 31st 2009 that finished 1-1. The crowd of 7,452 that day is still the stadium’s attendance record.

The Teams

Following on from competing at their first ever major international tournament at last summer’s European Women’s Championships, Scotland were full of hope as they looked to qualify for the World Cup for the first time. Former Arsenal Ladies and Stirling University manager Shelley Kerr took over from longstanding head coach Anna Signeul following the Euros. Record cap holder and captain Gemma Fay, Leanne Ross and Ifeoma Dieke all also retired following the campaign. New captain Rachel Corsie, currently at Arsenal, and midfield talisman Kim Little, who has returned to Arsenal after a spell in the States, have both returned from injury in recent months to give the squad a boost. Kerr has picked a squad with a solid mix of youth and experience.

The campaign started last October with a 2-1 win in Belarus, with goals from Jane Ross and a second half own goal cancelling out the home side’s opener. It was followed up with a 5-0 win over Albania in Paisley five days later, with another own goal opening the scoring before Ross, Fiona Brown, Claire Emslie and Lisa Evans added to the comfortable scoreline. Winter and spring training camps saw a defeat to Norway, a draw with Russia and two 2-0 wins over New Zealand before resuming the qualifying campaign in Switzerland last Thursday. A 1-0 defeat to the top ranked Swiss means that with 3 games played, Scotland sit third in the group with 6 points from 3 games. Tonight’s opponents Poland are second on 7 points having played 4 games, and Switzerland have a 100% record from their five games played to top the group.

Poland have never reached a major international tournament and are currently ranked 30 in the world, seven places lower than Scotland. Their campaign started with a 4-1 home win over Belarus in September, which was followed by a narrow 2-1 defeat in Switzerland four days later. Their third game saw a 4-1 win in Albania back in November, but the Albanians secured a surprising 1-1 draw in Poland last Thursday to leave them with 7 points at the halfway stage of their qualifying campaign.

The Game

It was a scrappy start to the game, with neither side really able to get any footing on the match in the opening ten minutes or so. Poland had the first meaningful attack of the game after 7 minutes, but captain Rachel Corsie’s well timed tackle put pay to Ewa Pajor’s attempts. It took fourteen minutes for Scotland to mount any real attack, but when they did it was very close to the opening goal. Claire Emslie picked the ball up on the right wing and cut inside, leaving Paulina Dudek in her wake before firing a shot just inches over the bar from the angle of the box. Scotland attacked down the right again four minutes later when Lisa Evans was played in on the overlap by Emslie, only to see her cross sail over the heads of everyone in the box.

With 19 minutes played, Poland actually had the ball in the net, but Ewelina Kamczyk had been blown for offside well before she poked the ball into the empty net. The game was opening up by this point, and Emma Mitchell’s cross was met by Emslie on twenty minutes, but she couldn’t direct her header past the Polish defence. Two minutes later, Kim Little linked well with Evans, but the defence shepherded the ball harmlessly behind. Poland’s best chance of the first half came after 24 minutes from a well worked corner routine. Katarzyna Daleszczyk found herself with the ball at her feet around 12 yards out, but she blasted her shot high into the South Stand. Jane Ross was cutting a lonely figure up front on her own for Scotland, but her hold up play was bringing opportunities. With twenty seven minutes gone, she did extremely well to keep the ball in on the bye line and laid it back to Emslie. Her inviting cross was however a couple of inches too high for the onrushing Fiona Brown to reach and the ball drifted behind.

Scotland were in the ascendancy but couldn’t find the finishing touch to round anything off. Brown’s searching run down the left a little after the half hour mark resulted in a cross that fell agonisingly behind Ross and Caroline Weir, and Emslie, who was causing the Poles, and left back Dudek in particular, major problems every time she got hold of the ball sent in another sublime cross on 36 minutes, which none of her team mates could manage to get on the end of. It was however the Poles who finished the half stronger, with two good chances in the last five minutes. Kamczyk first beat Mitchell on the left hand side, but could only fire her shot straight at the grateful Lee Alexander. And with just a minute left in the half, Aleksandra Sikora found space on the right, but saw her cutback cleared by Corsie. 0-0 at halftime in an engaging game. Scotland just about looked the better side, but there really wasn’t much between the two teams.

Poland started the second half quickly and strongly, with Pajor sending a good effort into Alexander’s arms just ninety seconds after the kick off. Scotland did create a wonderful chance to take the lead with 51 minutes gone when Brown sent a delectable cross into the box. Kim Little almost had her head on it, but it was clawed away brilliantly by Polish keeper Katarzyna Kiedrzynek only inches from her head. Scotland were finding it hard to keep hold of the ball, and Poland were granted a huge chance to capitalise. Jennifer Beattie sent a poor clearance – pretty much her only misstep in a colossal defensive performance – straight to the feet of Sikora, but she could only force a corner. In the aftermath of that corner though, German referee Riem Hussein pointed to the spot for handball against Jo Love. It looked like a harsh decision from where I as sitting, and Love was absolutely furious with the call. With the large and vocal Polish support poised, Ewa Pajor stepped up and drilled a low penalty to Alexander’s right. But the Scotland keeper got down quickly and saved the spot kick, gathering the ball at the second attempt to the delight of the home crowd.

Despite the penalty miss, it was Poland who continued to attack, and with just over an hour gone, they worked a free kick down the right wing. Sikora’s cross was met by the head of Dudek, but Alexander saved well. Ten minutes later Kamczyk was released by a wonderful pass from midfield, and her shot flew across the Scotland goal before falling just wide. Scotland had weathered the storm though, and began to find openings, mainly through Emslie on the right hand side as she continued to terrorise Dudek, but her crosses into the box couldn’t find their targets. The game swung after 75 minutes when Dudek’s night was ended prematurely. Two almost identical fouls on Emslie around ten minutes apart resulted in a pair of yellow cards. The Polish left back left the field in tears, and the player advantage ramped Scotland up.

The introductions of Zoe Ness and Erin Cuthbert gave Scotland a new found spark as well, and both substitutes had decent long range efforts well saved by Kiedrzynek as Scotland pressed. Finally, with 79 minutes gone the deadlock was broken, and Emslie unsurprisingly had a big hand in the goal. Emslie found space on the right and rushed past the Polish defence to the byeline. Her cross was met by the diving head of Ness for her first international goal. The home crowd was buoyant, and they nearly had more to cheer after 84 minutes, but a scramble from Little’s free kick saw Emslie’s shot sneak past the post.

There was however, more to celebrate, as with 87 minutes gone Emslie got the goal her performance deserved. Kim Little’s stunning cross field pass found her in acres of space on the right and the Manchester City winger cut inside the box before shooting low under Kiedrzynek to double Scotland’s lead. Emslie had a chance to score again only a minute later but blasted her shot well over the bar after finding herself in space again. Scotland still had more, though, and two minutes into stoppage time Lisa Evans’ cutbuck was collected by Cuthbert, who fought off two defenders and somehow managed to get a powerful shot away as she fell to the ground. Cuthbert very nearly scored a fourth seconds later, but Kiedrzynek held the shot and the game finished 3-0. Scotland left it late, but dug deep for an impressive win against a tough opponent. Lee Alexander was named player of the match, understandably given that her penalty save changed the course of the game, but for me Claire Emslie was the outstanding player on the pitch, involved in just about everything Scotland created.

The Pies

Tonight, Kaitlin and I decided to skip dinner before the game and instead treat ourselves to two pies each for our main meal of the day. There are no regrets. St Mirren’s steak pie is a fairly standard one, not much to write home about, but a tasty snack. Their chicken curry pie is fantastic. A bit larger than the rest of them and packed full of a surprisingly and pleasingly spicy chicken curry. It’ll definitely be my choice of pie on any return visits. Kaitlin had both vegetarian options tonight, despite not being of that persuasion. The macaroni pie got top marks, and the cheese & bean pie, one I’ve never seen at a game before, was everything she wanted it to be. A good night of pie tasting! Steak and macaroni are pictured.

Admission: £5
Programme: Free
Pie: £2.20 (Scotch) £2.60 (Steak, chicken curry, macaroni, cheese & bean)
Bovril: £1.50
Attendance: 2,121

Italy U19 v Scotland U19

Italy U19 4-1- Scotland U19
UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship Elite Round Group 7
Oriam National Performance Centre
Thursday 5th April 2018

As a precursor to hosting the 2019 Women’s Under-19 European Championship Finals, Scotland were given the hosting duties for their Elite Round qualification group this year. All six games are being played in Edinburgh, with five of them at the new Oriam Performance Centre. The sixth game is to be hosted by Spartans at Ainslie Park this coming Sunday. Continuing to make the most of my week’s annual leave, I popped along to see the youngsters in action.

The Venue

Oriam is pretty spectacular. Heriot-Watt University won the bidding to be the location of the new national football academy for Scotland, and work on the facility started in 2015. Opened in August of 2016, the centrepiece is the vast main building, consisting of numerous indoor sports facilities, including the largest indoor football pitch in the UK.

The indoor pitch is fantastic. Along one side of the pitch are 500 seats, in three rows raised well above pitch level, giving a fantastic view from wherever you sit. There’s a large area of hard standing behind the seating area as well, which I imagine should raise the capacity to around 750-800 if required. The curved PVC roof stands 28m above the pitch at the highest point. The indoor pitch is kept at the same temperature as outside to prevent condensation. It does mean it can get a bit cold, but at least you’re protected from any wind and rain (or snow!)

The facility also hosts outdoor pitches, including a grass and synthetic pitch that sit side by side. These pitches have recently had a fantastic double stand constructed, with seats on either side, facing both pitches. It’s a highly impressive facility, which has been extremely well used since opening. Tonight, the middle two blocks of seats were reserved for media and VIPs, and both of those blocks were almost at capacity. Amusingly, it led to injured Scotland senior international Lana Clelland sitting in front of us, as she didn’t have a VIP badge, despite the fact that both of her parents had one! I’ll be looking out for further matches being held here, I was really taken by the place.

The Teams

Italy’s Qualification Round group saw them travel to Moldova in October, where they also played France and the Faroe Islands. They started with an impressive 8-0 win against the hosts, although two of the goals did come in stoppage time. They followed that up with a 9-0 victory over the Faroes to ensure qualification to the next stage, with yet another goal coming in added on time. Their group ended with a disappointing 5-2 defeat to top seeded France, but with Elite Round qualification already secured, they had given themselves a solid foundation. They opened their Elite Round campaign with a 7-1 win against Russia on Monday.

Scotland travelled to Hungary for their Qualification Round group, also facing Turkey and Armenia. Goals from Lauren Davidson and an unfortunate Armenian defender gave them a solid 2-0 win to start the campaign. Two very late goals from the hosts in the second game meant that the final group match against Turkey had major ramifications. The two sides fought to a 0-0 draw, leaving Scotland third in the group on goal difference. Other results later that day though, meant that Scotland had finished as one of the four best third placed teams in the round and secured qualification to the Elite Round. The Elite Round started on Monday with a hard fought 2-1 defeat to the top seeded Czech Republic. The Scotland side has plenty of experience, with several players playing regularly in the SWPL. Nine of the twenty in the quad will also be eligible for the championship next year, making this a vital experience for them.

The Game

It was an absolutely incredible start to the game, as Scotland attacked straight from the kick off. Shannon McGregor burst down the right hand side and sent a fizzing ball across the six yard box. The Italian goalkeeper could only parry the cross to the feet of Sam Kerr, and the Glasgow City midfielder stroked the ball into the net with only thirteen seconds played.

From there though, it was all Italy, with the Scots unable to get a foothold on the game. Just a minute after conceding, the Italians broke upfield and struck a shot inches wide of the post. And just a couple of minutes later, Eartha Cumings in the Scottish goal was tested after a fine passage of play. Scotland did create a good chance after sixteen minutes, when Jamie Lee Napier cut the ball back to her Hibs team mate McGregor and forced a decent save from the goalkeeper. Italy were winning all the midfield battles, and their dominance in possession was rewarded after 31 minutes. Scotland failed to properly clear the ball, and Agnese Bonfantini rifled her shot past Cumings for the equaliser. The Italians continued to look dangerous, and Cumings was being kept busy in the Scotland goal. What could well have been the killer blow was landed right on half time. Once again the Scottish defence couldn’t properly clear their lines, and gave Melanie Kunrath the opportunity to strike. Her shot flew into the net and the half time whistle was sounded.

The problems Scotland had with keeping hold of the ball unfortunately continued into the second half. Uncharacteristic simple mistakes were blighting the team as they just couldn’t get a foothold on the game at all. It was the Italians who were looking most dangerous still, and after 53 minutes took a two goal lead. A good move down the left hand side saw an inviting cross into the box. Bonfantini met it, and sent a beautiful flick over the head of the onrushing Cumings to make it 3-1.

Going two goals down seemed to revitalise Scotland, and with an hour gone the impressive Napier found herself with the ball just outside the Italian box. The lack of support though, forced her into a shot that trickled wide without troubling Lauria in the Italian goal. Seven minutes later, Brogan Hay found space on the right and sent a looping cross towards the back post. Ellis Dalgliesh met the ball with her head, but couldn’t generate enough power to cause Lauria any problems. The potential turning point of the game came after seventy minutes. Napier shrugged off a defender and worked her way into the box, bearing down on Lauria. She seemed to all intents and purposes to be tripped by the recovering Italian centre half, but the Polish referee was unmoved and decided not to point to the spot, much to the indignation of the Hibs forward.

From this, the Italians continued to look more dangerous, without creating too many clear chances. Both sides had attempts that didn’t result in much and it looked like the game was going to end 3-1. But deep into stoppage time, Italian substitute Giada Greggi worked her way into the Scottish box where she was brought down by Leah Eddie. Italy captain Arianna Caruso stepped up and confidently thumped the penalty into the back of the net to make it 4-1.

A tough night for Scotland, who just couldn’t get a hold of the game. Jamie Lee Napier impressed me with her running and willingness, but she was up against it for almost the entire game. The Italians were well deserving of the victory, but on a different night, if Scotland had been able to click a little better, it could have been a very different game.

The Pies

It didn’t look like Oriam had pies on offer tonight, but to be honest I didn’t really look with too much attention. Earlier in the afternoon, however, we had visited the always fantastic Piemaker in the city centre. This is one of my favourite places in Edinburgh, and a Macaroni Pie and a Tattie Dog (a hot dog wrapped in mashed potato and then deep fried – every bit as delicious as it sounds) were heartily consumed.

Admission: Free
Programme: Free
Pie: Not Sure
Bovril: Hot drinks were all £1.50, don’t think they had Bovril though
Attendance: 390 (approx headcount)