All too often in the past we have suffered the indignation of clutching a defeat from the jaws of death and tonight was no different for the heroic women of the Scottish National side as they were sucker punched at the death of this match to end their hopes of EURO championship football at the same stage for the second consecutive finals.
After Saturdays magnificent performance and historic day at Hampden, no-one could have imagined the drama that would unfold in the Pabellon de la Ciudad del Futbol 1 in Madrid but if it was drama you were after, you were not disappointed.
Long Story Short
Scotland took the lead through Emma Mitchell on 62 minutes but like Saturday were quickly pegged back the a tremendous Spanish squad with Adriana once again plying the plain on 74 minutes.
Extra Time
Kim Little put Scotland into the lead 8 minutes into extra time which meant the home side needed to score twice to progress but yet again the Spanish fought back grabbing a goal on 113 minutes through Mesegeur but with the scoreline as it stood, Scotland would still go through thanks to away goals.
The drama seemed to roll on and roll on as for the second time in two games, Gemma Fay was called upon to save a penalty and save it she did with four minutes remaining of the extra 30 minutes after Hayley Lauder was adjudged to have handled in the box.
Sucker Punch
The real sucker punch though was to happen with the last kick of the ball when Spains star player Vero, who was missing on Saturday, got the luck of a deflection on her strike from the edge of the box and everyone in attendance watched as the ball ball spun into the back of the goal just moments before the referee blew her final whistle.
It was devastating for the Scots – a real heart wrenching moment for the players and you couldn’t help but feel absolutely gutted for the players who had put everything on the line to reach the finals next year in Sweden.
However gutted the Scottish players and coaching staff feel tonight, the full story of what they have achieved this week will slowly sink in.
On Saturday the women’s team reached a goal of playing at Hampden for the very first time. They also played in front of the largest crowd ever to watch a Scotland womens international match. Place on top of that the whopping 4400 people who accessed the live stream from Spain in tonights match and you suddenly have a whole new belief of what you have achieved for womens football in Scotland.
Anna Signeul and her players can be rightfully proud of what they have managed and the disappointment of losing out on the EURO Championships in Sweden will quickly fade when they recognise the dizzy heights they have reached and the new throngs of fans that are now hooked on Scottish womens fitba!
Marc Roseblade is a Contributor for Examiner.com, Football Speak, Global Football Today, 90 Soccer, Yardbarker, OurGameMagazine and various online & published sports outlets across the globe. All quotes are obtained first-hand unless otherwise stated. You can follow Marc on Twitter @myscottishfitba
