THEY say success breeds success, and that proved to be the case when within hours of each other Glasgow City
qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League and Scotland moved back into the top 20
of the Fifa women’s world rankings.
The two events on Thursday night and Friday morning were unrelated, but continue the positivity generated by a first World Cup qualification.
Nor is the pace likely to drop with the SBS SWPL1 title and the SSE Scottish Women’s Cup both due to be wrapped up in the next few weeks.
Although his City team lost 1-0 to Somatio Barcelona on the night, Scott Booth makes a valid point in stating that the result underlined how well his side had done to beat a decent side 2-0 in Limassol. The Cypriots played five games in the tournament this season, including three qualifiers, and these were the only goals they conceded.
Money screams in football and one assumes the American pair of Anna James-Buhigas and goalscorer Krystyna Freda, along with Ivory Coast international forward Rebecca Elloh, don’t need to be in Cyprus for the sunshine. They were Somatio’s three best players on Thursday, and they are not the only ones who have been imported.
The last 16 draw is tomorrow and, as Booth candidly admits, the eight seeded teams will probably all be hoping to be paired against his side. City have been beaten by two of them – Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea – in recent years, while the others are holders Lyon, Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg, Barcelona, Brondby and Rosengard.
“It’s going to be a massive task for us to get any further – that’s quite clearly the case,” Booth said. “But when you’re in it you’re still in it, and we’re going to do everything we possibly can to go a step further.”
There will be additional Scottish interest in the last 16 as Erin Cuthbert and Fiona Brown scored for Chelsea and Rosengard respectively in their second-leg ties during the week. Two first-half goals from Lana Clelland also helped Fiorentina through, although, like City, they are not seeded.
Manchester City’s interest ended when they were beaten 3-1 on aggregate by Atletico Madrid. It’s another indication of the quality left in the tournament that they, too, are not seeded in the draw.
SCOTLAND'S upward movement in the world rankings, from 21 to 19, equals the highest placing achieved five years ago. The nation was at 23 when Shelley Kerr replaced Anna Signeul as head coach after the Euros.
The new regime has had a highly impressive first year. It started with a 3-0 friendly win in Hungary last September, and Kerr's overall record is 10 wins, a draw and two defeats.
Seven out of eight qualifiers were won, including the crucial 2-1 victory over Switzerland last month, paving the way for that historic qualification.
“The first year has probably surpassed my expectations, although I'm very fortunate because I've got some very talented players,” Kerr said. “I'm delighted with the progress because the development of the team has been huge within these 13 games.”
THERE'S an intriguing game at Petershill Park this afternoon when Glasgow City host Celtic in another BBC Alba game. The 11-times champions have had little time to recover from Thursday night's arduous Champions League encounter – but the big talking point is Eddie Wolecki Black's return to the ground where he was heavily involved in eight of these 11 titles, with further input into the ninth.
At the other end of the table Hamilton need to win at Rangers. If they don't, and Spartans beat Forfar at home, Accies will be relegated.
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