Friday, 06 Apr 2007
Scotland Women beat Italy 2-1 at McDiarmid Park today in a hard fought and exciting tie resulting in the first win over Italy since 1982.
Two long range goals from Julie Fleeting and Pauline Hamill ensured victory over the Italian side who are ranked 13 places above Scotland in the FIFA World Rankings and only weeks ago beat European Champions, Germany, in the Algarve Cup.
The first half was evenly matched and it was in the 43rd minute when Italian striker, Silvia Fuselli, picked up a through ball and slotted it in past Claire Johnstone who was advancing off her line.
Scotland were the dominant side in the second half and were rewarded for their pressure in the 67th minute when captain, Julie Fleeting, surged forward and after being fouled by the Italian defender, scored with a fantastic long range shot from the resulting free kick. Then, in the 75th minute, Pauline Hamill stepped up to take a free kick from 30 yards out and curled it into the top left hand corner.Coach, Anna Signeul, commented: "I am delighted with the result. After an excellent team performance against one of the top nation''s in women''s football, we can approach the Portugal game with confidence"
Scotland Women now look towards their first UEFA European Championship Qualifying Match against Portugal on Sunday 6 May at McDiarmid Park.
Scotland: Johnstone (Fay 45), Ferguson, McDonald, Kerr, Ross (Jones 66), Little (Malone 87), Love, Sneddon, Burns (McBride 79), Fleeting (capt), Hamill (Grant 84)*************************************************************************************************************************************
We deserved something - Joanne
Joanne Love was delighted with Scotland's performance as they recorded their first victory over Italy in 25 years.
The Doncaster Rovers Belles midfielder was a member of the team which came from behind to win 2-1 at McDiarmind Park and she told Women's Soccer Scene: "I think we deserved to take something out of the game.
"Italy are a good team and we expected a tough game - we would have been happy with the draw but are chuffed with the win."
Whilst acknowledging that the result was one of Scotland's best ever victories, Joanne is quick to point out that it came after a string of recent good performances. "We've recently played against Sweden and Japan and got a couple of good results against them and everyone knows that they are two of the best teams in the world," she says. "It was only 1-0 and 2-0 so it does a lot for the confidence meeting teams like that.
"We only lost 1-0 to England recently as well - we didn't play very well in the first half of that game but improved in the second half and had chances to snatch a draw.
"Now we have beaten Italy, confidence is high and the team spirit is good so we are looking forward to the (UEFA) qualifiers."
Scotland begin their 2009 UEFA Championship qualifying campaign with a home match against Portugal at McDiarmid Park on 6th May, and Joanne says that the squad are relishing the chance to continue their recent improvement. "It's nice to start your games at home," she says. "We are looking forward to the challenge and we're really confident that we will win."
Looking beyond the Portugal game, optimism is growing that Scotland can be serious challengers for a place in the Finals in Finland. "In the group that we have got, we have a good chance of qualifying," Joanne insists. "In the last two campaigns we've had Germany in our group and everybody knows that's going to be our toughest game. Everybody is confident about our group right now."
What would it mean for the women's game in Scotland if the national team were to qualify for the UEFA Championships? "Hopefully it would mean taking big steps," replies Joanne. "It's not as professional, as you would say, as it is in England right now but it's making steady progress and should take a big jump it we were able to qualify."
