The weekend’s club action will be followed immediately by another international window which will see the Scotland Women’s National Team face Ukraine at home, before travelling to group favourites Spain.
This window certainly ramps up the intensity of the qualifying campaign for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, with the games the toughest double-header Scotland have faced so far. Two huge performances are required.
Ukraine are ranked as third seeds in the group and fared better than Scotland in the last European qualification campaign. They made it through to the play-offs before Northern Ireland pipped them in the final to claim the last place in next summer’s major competition.
The game is unquestionably a ‘must-win’, as we aim to push for automatic qualification that will require an outcome where we fall nothing short of finishing top of group B. Ukraine are certainly not a pushover though and a disciplined performance will be needed to limit the threat they will carry while also creating opportunities to win the match.
The Scotland squad was announced through the week and it is smaller squad which has been called upon. The previous window opened an opportunity for some younger talents to be more involved, with the second fixture a friendly against Sweden.
However, these two games require an increased level of preparation and focus.
Christie Murray is one of the experienced players to return after she fractured her foot ahead of the WSL season. She is joined by Manchester United duo Kirsty Smith and Martha Thomas, who also have missed previous games through injury.
After the qualifying win over Hungary during the last window, there will still be some momentum to be carried forward – thanks to the last-minute winner which ensured our 100% record remained in tact. However, there is a realism and honesty over the performance itself, which on the night carried some frustration.
Despite limiting the Hungarians to less than 30% of possession and allowing them only one shot on target, the team still managed to concede after errors in possession, and at the same time failed to create many clear-cut chances.
But we know days like that are part of football and we are still learning a new philosophy under our new manager.
There is a renewed feeling of energy around the Scotland camp and, with a healthy balance of confidence and competitiveness, it has felt like it has strengthened the environment on and off the pitch.
There is no reason to fear these upcoming games, and the first challenge at Hampden is one the players will be relishing.
The week will be busy as the team aims to maximise preparations for the task ahead and we will look forward to being back at the national stadium in front of what will hopefully be another new – and loud – record crowd.
The focus will remain on Ukraine, but each day of preparation will also be valuable in helping build towards the fixture which follows immediately after. A good performance and most importantly a good result will be the target going into it.
Arsenal and Chelsea edge closer to Women’s Champions League knock-outs
The top two English sides edged closer to the Uefa Women’s Champions League quarter-finals this week with two wins, although neither team had it all their own way.
Arsenal were first up as they took on HB Koge at home after last week’s group win in Copenhagen.
They led early on in the game thanks to Caitlin Foord, however, they struggled to capitalise on their dominance and were almost made to rue their chances. Goalkeeper Lydia Williams was required on two occasions to stop the Danish champions pegging back the lead.
However, in similar fashion to last week, the relentlessness of Arsenal is tough to restrain for 90 minutes and two goals in the final 10 minutes meant it ended 3-0.
Wubben-Moy headed home in the 83rd minute, before Vivianne Miedema sealed a win, which only looks comfortable on paper, with only minutes remaining.
For Chelsea, it was a bit of a similar story, as they faced Servette, who they had also comfortably overcome the week before.
Sometimes a return fixture so close together like that can make it tougher to deliver a similar outcome, and Chelsea certainly encountered some frustration.
However, with things poised at 0-0, Emma Hayes made a triple substitution on the hour mark and it seemed to inject a spark into the Chelsea attacking flow.
Unsurprisingly, it was Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby who were at the centre of things, with Kirby slipping the ball through to Kerr to slot home and secure a 1-0 victory.
Chelsea continue as leaders of group A as a result.
Disappointing to read Birmingham City Women are struggling under conditions
It is disappointing to read the news which followed the sacking of Scott Booth at Birmingham City Women this week.
Having spent time on loan at the end of last year, I left with an optimism the club was acting on the well-publicised lack of resources provided to their women’s team.
It was unquestionably one of the poorest resourced of all current WSL sides and this still looks to be the case after comments made following Booth’s dismissal on Thursday.
Meanwhile, The NWSL Championship final will be played on Saturday as Washington Spirit will face Chicago Red Stars with a new team set to be crowned NWSL Champions.
