By Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North

TO say Wednesday night was heart-breaking is an understatement of epic proportions. We Scots seem to wallow in the misery afforded by finding all new ways of falling just that little bit short. Images of Costa Rica, Iran and Archie Macpherson outlining the goal difference came all to easily to mind.

It all looked so promising, so brilliant for 75 minutes. Anyone who has watched Scotland play over recent years knows how talented our team can be – and those first 75 minutes showed that skill and promise. Then the wheels fell off.

I think all of us – along with a certain referee from North Korea – would like to forget the last 15 minutes. Should we have seen the game out at 3-0 up, or even after Argentina’s first goal? Absolutely, and in a parallel universe Shelley Kerr is today preparing her squad for a last 16 tie against Germany, with the entire nation behind our team.

However, I doubt many have seen such inept officiating as we witnessed Wednesday night. Even taking the tartan-tinted specs off, serious questions need to be asked about the consistency of officiating at this level. This is the biggest women’s single-sport event in the world. Some of the refereeing on display would not look out of place in the pub leagues and disrespects the work that players of all countries have put in to get there.

But at least in the pub leagues they are spared the unending farce that is VAR. Now, this isn’t a Luddite call for new technology to be banned from football – indeed, as the country responsible for most innovations in the history of the game, Scotland should be at the forefront of progress.

Alas, as we’ve come to expect from an organisation as bloated and out of touch as Fifa, the roll-out of video replays has been ham-fisted and baffling. Umpteen different sports, from rugby to tennis to cricket, seem to have managed its introduction with little fuss or disruption, so why is football, with all its vast resources, seemingly unable to do the same?

This shouldn’t detract from the overall performance of the team. Many have criticised Shelley Kerr for setting her team out defensively in the games against England and Japan, but what should any Scotland manager – male or female – do in games against the third and seventh top-ranked countries in the world? Is Stevie Clarke likely to stick three up front against Brazil and hope David de Gea takes out Scottish citizenship?

But in the wider perspective, our qualification has been extraordinary and must be seized upon to ensure that our finals appearance leaves an enduring legacy, not just for women’s football, but women’s sport in general.

Over the past fortnight I have seen cynical veteran fans of the men’s game jumping up and down and living every second of the game. For many of this cohort, the qualification and the exposure the women’s game has had has helped remove the gendered scales from their eyes.

But the biggest win is the sight of young girls out playing football in squares, parks and playgrounds across the country. Young girls (and boys) now have female idols on their TV, tablets and phones, and it’s that generation the team have so inspired.

With BBC Alba leading the way with their Scottish league broadcast deal – and the new BBC Scotland channel providing a perfect opportunity to widen reach – the opportunities are there for the game to professionalise and raise standards across the board.

To truly capitalise on Scotland reaching our first ever Women’s World Cup then, we cannot allow the momentum to be lost. We must work together to change the game.