Scotland Women made it 10 out of 10 against Northern Ireland with a 1-0 win in Belfast as Stonehaven’s Christy Grimshaw made her international debut.
Nine times since 2005 Scotland had faced their rivals from across the Irish Sea and nine times they’d triumphed.
At times it seemed like that flawless record might have been under threat in a hard-fought game at Seaview but Weir’s penalty secured the perfect 10 for the Dark Blues in front of 500 fans.
Goalkeeper Lee Alexander took the armband for the Scots as Rachel Corsie remained on the bench alongside fellow north-east star Kim Little.
Northern Ireland started the match with nine of the 11 who played the night they secured Euro 2022 qualification.
Despite that success, no Northern Irish players were chosen alongside Mintlaw’s Little in the Team GB squad for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
Shiels’ side tried their best to begin proceedings in a calm manner but Scotland’s high press continually put them under pressure in the opening few minutes.
Thereafter the hosts seemed content to sit deep and allow Scotland to control possession, although their composure was blunted by a shortage of creativity in the first half.
Claire Emslie went closest to breaking the deadlock in the 42nd minute when she spun away from her marker on the right edge of the area before unleashing a curling left-footed strike that clipped the woodwork.
Fiona Brown entered the fray in place of Lana Clelland at the start of the second half while Northern Ireland sent on Toni-Leigh Finnegan for Nadene Caldwell.
The hosts had more bite to their counter-attacks in the opening exchanges of the second period but both sides continued to toil in the final third.
In a bid to open up the game McLaren sent on Manchester City midfielder Weir for Lisa Robertson just after the hour mark.
It worked… eventually.
Fifteen minutes after her introduction Weir struck a decisive blow from the spot after Christie Murray was felled by Laura Rafferty in the box.
The goal implanted some urgency into Northern Ireland’s play for the final stages but, some tricky footwork from substitute Kerry Beattie aside, the hosts could not find a leveller.
Grimshaw came on for her international debut as time ticked away and could have marked the occasion with a goal before the final whistle if not for a decent stop from Burns.
What’s next?
Next on the agenda for the Scots is a friendly against Wales in Llanelli on Tuesday June 15 (7.15pm).
The Dark Blues also have qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup to come after the summer against Hungary, Faroe Islands, Ukraine and Spain.
Teamlines
Nothern Ireland — Burns, McKenna, Nelson, Rafferty (Wilson 81), Holloway, McFadden, Callaghan (Watling 81), Caldwell (Finnegan 45), McCarron (Beattie 81), Wade (McDaniel 60), McGuinness (Kelly 60). Subs not used: Flaherty, Haughey, Howe, Andrews, Morgan.
Scotland — Alexander, McLauchlan, Westrup (Eddie 79), Robertson (Weir 63), Arthur, Howard, Murray (Graham 90), Docherty, Emslie (Grimshaw 90), Clelland (Brown 45), Hanson (Arnot 79). Subs not used: Cummings, Fife, Smith, Corsie, Little, Cuthbert.
