Tuesday night's 4-0 win over Costa Rica was my last Scotland game in a working capacity. To show their appreciation, the footballing gods arranged for a downpour of biblical proportions, which meant those of us leaving Hampden had to take care not to be drowned in the ensuing floods.
While Plan A had been to bow out at this summer's World Cup – the Republic of Ireland put paid to that – what had initially appeared to be little more than a low key friendly against Costa Rica proved to be rather better. Added to the 1-0 win over Australia four days earlier, there were finally signs that Pedro Martinez Losa's side could be heading in an upward trajectory.
It's no coincidence that the most encouraging double-header of the Spaniard's tenure coincided with the squad being freshened significantly. The squad had been so predictable for so long that any upheaval was likely be a positive.
Having proved she could adapt to this level against Australia, 17-year-old Emma Watson took it a leap further in her first appearance at Hampden. To score twice was a remarkable achievement for the Broughton High School pupil, who will soon sit the first of her four Highers.
Watson goes to the SFA performance school on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, while also being full time with Rangers. She credits training with boys for her first four years at Broughton, in addition to the coach at the school, Keith Wright, as being significant factors in her development.
Watson, who was rumoured to be interesting Manchester United even before her outstanding Hampden performance, is remarkably mature and grounded for her age. She only turned 17 in January, and if she does move to United in the summer will be following in the footsteps of Kim Little, Caroline Weir and Erin Cuthbert, all midfielders who moved to top English clubs at similar ages.
The challenge now is to introduce a robust youth development pathway which can produce a steady stream of better quality players not just for the senior team, but the age group ones as well. In that respect it is very encouraging to hear that Mick McArdle, the SFA's first-ever women's performance manager, has wasted no time in making his presence felt and is already introducing changes.
The most significant SWPL game of the season so far will be the second of a double-header at Petershill Park today. Celtic manager Fran Alonso concedes the contest against Glasgow City is a must-win for his side.
“A draw is not enough, so we are going to try to do what we did to Rangers,” Alonso said. “They were unbeaten in the league for a year and a half and we were the first team to beat them.”
With eight points already separating the top two sides, a deficit of eleven would effectively end Celtic's hopes of winning a first league title. They go into today's game without the influential Olivia Chance, who was injured playing for New Zealand against Iceland a week last Friday.
The better news for Celtic is that Shen Menglu is expected to play despite missing out on what could have been a debut cap against either Switzerland or Spain. “Lu was carrying a light injury from the last game against Partick Thistle and wasn't able to train the first few days with China, but did manage the last few days,” Alonso said.
Like the other two title contenders, Glasgow City had multiple players away on international duty but head coach Leanne Ross, who was also involved in the two Scotland games, says all are available today. City beat Celtic in both earlier league games, but Ross admitted: “If we're honest, these could have gone either way.
“There's nothing between the top three teams, and that's testament to all the work the clubs are doing.”
Nevertheless, City have taken eight points from a possible 12 against their title rivals, Celtic five from 15, and Rangers just four from 15. That largely explains City's healthy points advantage – if they can avoid defeat today, and again on Wednesday against Rangers, regaining the title will look very likely.
There will, unusually, be two games involving SWPL clubs on Saturday. The opener, with a 12.30pm kick off, is the first-ever Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden between Rangers and Motherwell.
That's followed at 7.45pm by Hibernian against Hearts at Easter Road. The league game will be live on Sky Sports – but unlike the two previous derbies the teams will not be playing for the Capital Cup and fans will have to pay to get in.
