Wales culminated their Pinatar Cup campaign with a gritty 1-1 draw against Scotland to see them start 2023 with an undefeated run in Spain as they claimed second in the round-robin tournament.
Manager Gemma Grainger said before Tuesday's match that honing a more "ruthless edge" was the blueprint for the day after an increasingly habitual lack of quality in the final third threatened to undermine more promising performances from her side.
But Wales, who sat second in the Pinatar Cup table behind leaders Iceland on goal difference, very nearly upended that blueprint after making tough work of a frustrating first half on Tuesday afternoon.
Wales could consider themselves lucky to pick up their lapse passing and leggy display at the interval with the scoreline level and a goal to tout.
An abysmal start from Wales saw Scotland’s Sophie Howard exploit poor marking at the back post and a pinpoint cross from Erin Cuthbert to slip a diving header beyond Olivia Clark just six minutes after the start.
The rest of the half threatened to slip into a Scottish goal glut as Wales struggled to play out of their own half and string passes together. Two chances fell to Jess Fishlock, operating in a false nine position, just before the half-hour mark in what were rare jaunts forward but the moves fizzled to nothing.
And so the ostensible theme of the day came to be: the final ball frustratingly lacking, a painfully familiar one for Grainger and Co, who have seen the final third become a sort of bespoke Bermuda Triangle of late.
Nevertheless, Fishlock characteristically flexed her calibre and dragged Wales into the interval with some semblance of aplomb. The centurion latched onto a long goal kick from Clark, jinked through midfield and slipped in Ceri Holland on the left whose composed low finish coolly evaded Scotland keeper Lee Gibson.
A more balanced display played out in the second half as Wales opted for a direct style of play and returned to a more familiar shape.
Both sides relished chances but were left ruing spoilt opportunities, particularly Wales as the match wore on, with the best chances routinely fashioned through standouts Fishlock and the returning Hannah Cain, the former of whom saw a free-kick cruelly parried away 10 minutes from time.
Wales next face Northern Ireland on Thursday, April 6 (7.15pm kick-off) at Cardiff City Stadium in an international challenge match. The match will be part of preparations for the new UEFA Nations League campaign which will get under way in September 2023.
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