The baltic Marble Coaches Stadium couldn’t extinguish the fire of Scotland as they broke Czechia’s hearts to advance to the next qualifying stage.
Scotland came into the tie knowing they only had to hold on to their 2-0 lead over the Czech Republic to secure a place in the final play-off round against Sweden, who had earlier in the evening gubbed — no better word for it — Lithuania 15-0 on aggregate. However, did Scotland make it easy? Absolutely not!
In a night full of dreams, fuelled by ambition and wrapped in camaraderie, was there any better time for two members of the Scotland squad to mark the occasion with milestones? Kirsty Hanson celebrated half a century of appearances in Scotland colours, while Nicola Docherty revelled in earning her 75th cap for her country.
Melissa Andreatta made one change to the starting XI, with Chirsty Grimshaw replacing Kirsty Maclean in midfield. The Scots were then forced into an unexpected change as captain Caroline Weir appeared to pull up during the warm-up and was replaced by Claire Emslie. This made Docherty’s night even more memorable as she captained the side.
The Czech mission, should they choose to accept it, was to claw back a two-goal deficit. Much like in Mission: Impossible, they gave it a stellar go, but so too did Scotland, whose aim was to maintain their aggregate lead.
Czechia drew first blood with only three minutes on the clock. Veselá picked up the ball 30 yards from goal, looked up, saw no pass was on and then unleashed a rocket towards the Scotland goal. Let me tell you, that strike nearly put a hole in the top corner as it whizzed past MacIver to pull one back for the visitors. 0-1 (2-1 on aggregate).
Scotland weren’t far behind on the goalscoring front, and just two minutes later, they extended their aggregate lead. Hanson’s perfectly weighted cross found Davidson lurking in the six-yard box. She wrong-footed her defender before firing the ball across goal and into the bottom corner. It was a clinical move from the hosts that added another goal to the tally in what was a frantic opening few minutes. 1-1 (3-1 on aggregate).
With momentum in their sails, Scotland went in search of another goal as Muir ran on to the ball outside the box. With the crowd lending her encouragement, the left-back took a shot at goal, but it sailed just over the bar.
The next 20 minutes were played mainly in the middle of the pitch, with both sides jostling for clear-cut possession. However, one corner was all Czechia needed to restore belief in their side. Khyrova swung the ball in and, with acres of space in the box, Cahynová powered a bullet header into the Scotland goal to claw another one back for the visitors in the 32nd minute. 1-2 (3-2 on aggregate).
Scotland believed that tonight was their night, though. The packed-out Paisley stadium embodied that feeling, and with the crowd behind them, it was up to Scotland to carve out their destiny in the second half. They took that chisel and made it happen.
Four minutes after the restart, Scotland drew level on the night as MacIver punted the ball long in the hope of finding a teammate. Her pinpoint delivery caused problems for the Czechia backline, as McGovern harried her defender into making a mistake before taking a touch and squeezing the ball under the visiting goalkeeper’s legs to send Paisley into jubilation. 2-2 (4-2 on aggregate).
Scotland were heading towards putting the tie beyond doubt as Cuthbert’s driving run down the touchline allowed her to loft the ball into the box. It looked certain to be the goalkeeper’s ball, but she fumbled it, and Grimshaw was on hand to pick up the loose ball and fire it home to make it three. 3-2 (5-2 on aggregate).
Czechia mustered one last, half-hearted attack as Khyrova took aim in the 91st minute, finding space in the box before firing straight at MacIver. Her effort was met with resounding jeers from the Scotland fans, who continued to chant, ‘No Scotland, No Party’.
So many times, Scotland have missed the boat in qualifying campaigns, but not tonight. Tonight belongs to the women who battled it out on the pitch, dug deep and believed that if they dared to dream, they could achieve. Tonight, they have edged one step closer to World Cup glory.
Who lies around the corner? Sweden, the third-placed team at the 2023 World Cup. But that is a thought for another day. Tonight is for celebration!
The Scots march on!
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