UEFA Women’s EURO 2017 Qualifier
Belarus 0-1 Scotland
Tuesday 7th June 2016, kick-off 6pm (local time)
FC Minsk Stadium, Minsk

(Love 15’)

Anna Signeul was delighted with her Scotland team’s character after they recovered from Friday’s defeat to Iceland with a 1-0 victory over Belarus in Minsk.

The squad return back to Scotland tomorrow morning with a third consecutive victory on the road in UEFA Women’s EURO qualifying, and the Swede was full of praise for her squad after a tough loss at the Falkirk Stadium.

Speaking to the Scottish FA website, Signeul said:

“The girls were fantastic today. We had great opportunities but their best player was their goalkeeper who made some really great saves, especially in the second half.

"It was brilliant to see the team perform as well as they did, and how much they wanted to get the three points.”

Following Scotland’s 7-0 victory over Belarus in October the visitors were favourites to win once more against the Eastern European outfit. The hosts, however, put in a great defensive shift, providing Scotland with arguably one of their toughest tests in Group 1.

That Scotland were able to breakthrough a deep-lying opposition was pleasing for Signeul, as was her team’s ability to see-out a potentially nerve-wracking final few minutes by using their experience. 

“As long as they’re in the game they keep on fighting. If we had made it 2-0 that maybe would’ve broken their resilience. We knew that they would be tough to break down, and so it proved as one goal was enough for the win,” she explained. 

“It was also really encouraging to see the experience shine through in the final stages. We passed the ball and kept possession to count the closing seconds down. What’s important from today is not only the victory, but also the confidence we can take from knowing we can win challenging matches like these.”

Signeul was also full of praise for Erin Cuthbert, the 17 year-old Glasgow City player who made her Scotland debut in today’s victory in Minsk. The youngster replaced Rachel Corsie at half-time, and impressed in her first taste of senior international football. 

She said: “I think she did really well. She played without fear, and kept trying and trying to make things happen. On another day, she would have scored one or two, but the goalkeeper was excellent."