Late show as Scots Women stun Ukraine
The drama of Scotland and Ukraine was not all about what came out of the pots in Switzerland last night. As the countries went head to head at hampden in the fourth Women’s World Cup qualifier, there was further excitement as a 93rdminute goal from Abi harrison gave Scotland a vital lifeline.
It did more than preserve Pedro Martinez Losa’s unbeaten start to his Scotland chapter but also ensured the Scots keep their ambitions of making it back-to-back World Cup appearances alive.
Realistically they will feel that they needed all three points but they deserved their leveller after they threw everything at Ukraine in a chaotic second period.
harrison’s late header after she converted a cross from substitute Lana Clelland cancelled out Roksolana Kravchuk’s opener and was just reward for a bold switch in formation as Scotland sought to get back into the game.
having got off to an ideal start with three wins from three in their opening games, there was always a feeling that this double header against Ukraine and Spain may offer a more sobering assessment of just where Scotland are.
The draw is the first blot on the copybook and leaves Scotland two points behind Spain, who they play on Tuesday in Seville. They remain six points ahead of Ukraine but have played one game more than last night’s visitors who frustrated them for large chunks of this match.
By the time they took the lead midway through the opening period they had already unnerved Scotland twice. Rachael Boyle scuffed a clearance before Olha Ovdiychuk hit a wild effort off target.
Veronika Andrukhiv then caught Scotland off-guard as she latched onto a perfectly weighted through ball but then made a mess of the shot as she tripped awkwardly.
having failed to heed the warnings Scotland then found themselves a goal down.
The architect was Anna Petryk whose ball caught Jen Beattie flatfooted as Kravchuk showed her a clean pair of heels before calmly dispatching her effort beyond the reach of Lee Alexander.
Scotland tried to force an immediate retaliation but for all their possession there was little in the way of clear-cut chances.
There was an effort from harrison from the edge of the box but it was never liable to trouble Daryna Bondarchuk in the Ukraine goal given the lack of power.
harrison again showed awareness when she robbed Lyubov Shmatko of possession before her effort was beaten away by Bondarchuk. With no one else supporting the attack, Ukraine cleared the danger.
erin Cuthbert tried her luck from distance with a dipping effort from the edge of the box which was well worth a try given the conditions but it wasn’t enough to find a way past the Ukraine keeper.
There were changes at the interval as Sophie howard came on for Beattie. There was almost a leveller when Christy Grimshaw came close to picking out Cuthbert but the Chelsea striker, on the stretch, just couldn’t get on the end of the cross.
Seconds later Cuthbert turned provider as she whipped in a cross that harrison headed over.
Caroline Weir came close to finding the elusive equaliser when she unleashed a fierce 20-yard drive that Bondarchuk tipped onto the crossbar.
For all of Scotland’s attacking threat, they were almost undone by a killer second with Alexander having to smother a Tamila Khimich effort on the line.
The late drama came on the cusp of the whistle as Clelland’s cross from the right was converted by the tireless harrison.
SCOTLAND (4-3-3): Alexander; Boyle, Corsie, Beattie (Howard 46), Arthur; Cuthbert, Graham (Ross 69), Weir; Grimshaw (Clelland 77), Harrison, Evans. Subs not used: Fife, Cumings, McLauchlan, Docherty, Robertson, Murray, Muir, Clark, Arnot. Booked: None. UKRAINE (3-5-1-1): Bondarchuk; Korsun, Shmatko, Khimich; Andrukhiv (Shevchuk 56), Petryk, Apanaschenko, Kalinina (Kitayeva 69), Basanka; Ovdiychuk (Kunina 69); Kravchuk (Malakhova 90). Subs not used: Sanina, Herasymchuk, Podolska, Kochnyeva, Hiryn, Pereviznyk, Kravets. Booked: None. Referee: Sabina Bolic (Croatia).