I celebrated title win with Bayern boys on Munich balcony...but it can’t top Griff’s England double
Evans aiming to surprise Auld Enemy at the Euros
LISA EVANS stood alongside Pep Guardiola and Robert Lewandowski and celebrated title success from the balcony of the town hall in Munich.
However, the Scotland midfielder admits she has never known a feeling to match the delight of the double scored by Leigh Griffiths against England at Hampden earlier this month.
The Bayern Munich star, capped 60 times, would love to replicate the Celtic frontman by helping fire the national team in front against the Auld Enemy – and this time hold on for a famous victory.
Scotland boss Anna Signeul named a squad of 22 at the National Stadium yesterday for next month’s European Championship in Holland, the first time our women have qualified for a major tournament.
They have ended their wrangle over terms and conditions with the SFA and now all focus is fixed on their tournament opener against the English in Utrecht on July 19.
Evans, 25, is set to return to the UK when her contract with Bayern ends next week but she leaves the club with a host of wonderful memories, not least her appearance on the balcony of the Rathaus in front of 250,000 fans 12 months ago.
She said: “For the most part we’re separate from the men’s team at Bayern Munich but we had lots of celebrations when we won the league together last year. We were on the balcony together with all the fans below and it was breathtaking, one of the best experiences I’ve had.
“It was unreal but I was also lucky enough to be at the England game with a couple of team-mates this month and I’ve never had a feeling like it watching a football game in my life. It was amazing, such a rollercoaster of emotions on the day.
“I don’t want to speak too early but we know anything can happen in a game of football. Leigh Griffiths showed that when he banged in those two free-kicks.
“I can’t wait until our game against the English and I might fancy Caroline Weir to do something with her set-pieces. We know England have a lot more experience of these competitions than we do but we’re going to enjoy a really great atmosphere.
“The tournament will be broadcast live on Channel 4 and it’s good for kids to have role models in the Scottish women’s game they can watch on television. The game has grown tremendously since I made my first appearance for Scotland.”
Scotland are considered underdogs to progress from Group D where the powerhouse English and rivals Spain are favourites to qualify for the last eight at the expense of Signeul’s squad and Portugal. The Scots will take on the Portuguese in Rotterdam’s Sparta Stadion on July 23 before concluding their group campaign four days later in Deventer.
The women had been going into the finals on a war footing with the SFA over a string of issues including financial, commercial and equality matters.
The squad was originally due to be announced last week but it was postponed until a resolution could be found as the squad continued its media blackout, even with the SFA’s own in-house channels.
In the end Fraser Wishart of PFA Scotland negotiated hard on behalf of the women with Hampden’s sixth floor and a truce was brokered on Saturday evening.
Hibs defender Joelle Murray said: “The situation was not ideal but we felt we needed to take a stance and now it’s resolved we can move forward together and focus on the tournament.
“We knew our position had potential implications and that’s why we wanted to keep the terms of the dispute behind closed doors and not go public. We did not want our media blackout to overshadow the finals and we’re glad it has been resolved positively.”
Murray, 30, capped 43 times, said: “Qualification for the Euros has been a massive achievement for us and the
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nation. Opening the tournament with a game against England is something I could only have dreamed of. It will be up there as one of the highlights of my career.”
Signeul had taken a hands-off role throughout the dispute, arguing Gordon Strachan does not involve himself with the terms and conditions of the men’s team.
She said: “I’ve had no involvement and, as coach, have not seen any negative effect on the players in recent weeks.”
Her squad will move into a training camp at Oriam on Saturday and round off their preparations with a game against Ireland at Stark’s Park on Friday week.
They move to Holland early the following week and settle into the tournament hotel on July 15 and she’s also dreaming of going one better than the men at Hampden on June 10.
Signeul said: “Not many sporting occasions in Scottish history can ever compete with those closing moments against England. Some supporters have said it represented the best three minutes of their lives.
“The joy of 2-1? It’s impossible to top that but our target for the Euros is to get everyone in our squad performing at their absolute best. If we do we have a really good chance to do something special.
“We know England and Spain are top sides but we can show our passion and do our absolute best, just as the men did.
“I have spoken at a meeting of the Tartan Army and we might have up to 100 coming out to support us in Holland.
“We have a tremendous community around women’s football in Scotland but this could be a breakthrough moment in persuading the Tartan Army to come and watch the women’s team.
“It’s going to be a great event – already organisers have sold more than 100,000 tickets. The players will be working hard in training over the next couple of weeks to ensure we peak for the first game against England.”