Scots put in another show of strength

Scotland coach Anna Signeul declared herself very happy with the start of the Euro 2017 preparations following a second draw in four days against higher-ranked Denmark.

The morning game in Paralimni was almost a carbon copy of the first in Larnaca on Friday. Once again denmark dominated the first half and went into the interval ahead, and for the second time the Scots had the better of the second half.

Denmark had won seven of their last eight before arriving in Cyprus, so Signeul was particularly pleased that her side had finished both games the strongest.

“I’m very proud of the players that they have worked so hard,” she said after a seven-day trip to the island which started with the announcement that she is to join Finland as head coach after the Netherlands tournament.

“The goal for the camp was to start the journey to the Euros. If we have shown anything at the training sessions and the games it is that the first priority is to be a strong unit collectively.

“If you look at how we have played, we have matched Denmark in both games and that is very positive. We have got two good results against a good side while swapping so many players and giving them game time.

“We are in a much better place fitness-wise than we were a year ago and it is paying off. We needed to be here to be even better in April and so on.”

Signeul made six changes to the side which started the 2-2 draw in Larnaca. Shannon Lynn replaced Gemma Fay, and the Scotland captain will have an MRI scan in Edinburgh tomorrow to ascertain the damage to her left ankle sustained in the first game.

Scotland lost a terrible goal from a corner when right back Frankie Brown turned it past Lynn, but Kim Little confidently struck home a penalty with 14 minutes remaining.