Summer football. Scottish style. The battering rain did not let up once at Dens Park last night as Pedro Martinez Losa’s side comfortably saw off Northern Ireland in a friendly that was watched by an encouraging crowd of 5148 hardy souls.
First-half goals from Erin Cuthbert, Sam Kerr and Martha Thomas were sufficient to get the job done as Scotland took a win that continued their recently found momentum. "I’m very pleased for the girls,” said Martinez Losa. “We want to inspire people, that's our job. We created chances before the first goal, but we needed that confidence. The second half was difficult for both teams when the pitch became a bit heavy.
"We have a good group, an excellent mix of young and experienced players. It was a good opportunity for the players today."
If anything the bleakness of the weather might have served as the perfect accompaniment for gloomy introspection as Scotland brace themselves for the carnival of women’s football that is about to unfold in Australia and New Zealand this coming month.
Scotland, of course, will have nothing more than a sofa seat to take in the extravaganza after their failure to beat Republic of Ireland in the October play-off final.
Yet, this week the chat has been an all-eyes-forward positive approach as Martinez Losa and his squad have talked up the forthcoming Nations League campaign with the focus on what is to come rather than what has been.
In fairness to Scotland, this was a performance that was in keeping with their mantra as they swept Northern Ireland aside with a composed and clinical display that had effectively finished the game as a contest by the time the half time whistle sounded.
They had started on the front foot but had struggled to make the break through. Once Cuthbert claimed the first, the roof fell in on the visitors who looked increasingly bedraggled defensively.
In Kirsty Hanson, Scotland had a player who caused consistent havoc on the left-hand side while Cuthbert, Kerr and Caroline Weir were dominant in the central pastures as they pulled Ireland apart and dominated possession.
Thomas was first to threaten inside the opening minutes after Kerr had split the visitors defence with a beautifully weighted pass that the Irish managed to scramble clear before Thomas could inflict any damage.
Erin Cuthbert brought out a one-handed save from Northern Ireland goalkeeper Shannon Turner with a raking 30-yard effort that had the stopper scrambling across goal on the skiddy surface.
Northern Ireland posted sporadic notes of intent but it was Scotland who looked the more menacing of the two sides. They ought to have claimed a tangible return just before the 20-minute mark when Hanson forced her way down the left-flank before sliding a low cross into the box that the Irish managed to scramble clear.
Scotland upped the tempo as there was an increasingly inevitability about an opener. Cuthbert let fly from the edge of the box with an effort that Turner pushed away before
Scotland inexplicably did not score when Cuthbert fed the ball to Hanson before she whipped a low cross across the six-yard box that somehow eluded both Emma Watson and Cuthbert.
It was the Chelsea midfielder who finally put the ball in the back of the net after Weir picked out 17-year-old Watson who squared to Cuthbert whose low shot eluded Turner.
A second and third quickly followed. Kerr converted Weir’s cross before Thomas then got a little bit of luck when Hanson cross was hooked away but ricocheted off of her before landing fortuitously in the net.
The scoreline gave Martinez Losa the option to switch things around and tweak personnel as he rang the changes throughout the second period with debuts for Amy Rodgers and Kirsty MacLean.
Scotland continued to dominate possession but the tension had long gone out of the game by that point, although Northern Ireland should have had a chance to pull one back from the spot after Emma Mukandi had gone through the back of Caitlin McGuinness with the referee blind to the infringement.
All in all, though, a decent return for Scotland who now head to Finland for Tuesday evening’s game.
