“We knew we had six games to play at the highest level. We needed to win two. That was the objective and we can still do that." Pedro Martinez Losa
Scotland's Spanish Head Coach on UWNL objectives, the inclusion of Hayley Lauder and the current competition to become Scotland's No. 1.
As I hit record to ask my first question of the MD-1 interview with Pedro Martinéz Losa all the warmth that had been stored in my body during my walk to the Den Dreef Stadion, the venue for Scotland’s next UWNL Group A tie against Belgium, escaped from my body, generating a shudder that felt like a thousand icicles rattling around my circulatory system, “Do you want a coffee?’ asked Scotland’s Head Coach.
I did, but that could wait.
Scotland come into tomorrow’s Nations League with a chance, albeit a slim one, of retaining their Nations League spot.
“We knew we had six games to play at the highest level,” followed up the Spaniard, “We needed to win two. That was the objective and we can still do that starting tomorrow.”
Scotland have to win their last two matches against Belgium and England to have any chance of avoiding the Nations League drop, that process begins on Friday night against an opposition the Spanish Head Coach knows will be physical once again.
“I think that was probably the most angry people will have seen me in the last two years”, he said when reflecting on a post-match interview following the 1-1 draw with the Belgians at Hampden where he was indeed the angriest I’ve ever seen him, “It was a game that led to us losing a key player (in Caroline Weir ,who is continuing her recovery from an ACL injury back in Madrid) but away from that they are a very dangerous team on the counter attack. They’ve managed to get good results in this group but we showed that we will fight until the end to get that equaliser.”
Weir’s absence for the Dutch double header last month along with that of Emma Watson, Sam Kerr and Erin Cuthbert, although the latter was permitted to play sixty minutes of the 1-0 loss at Hampden, saw Scotland appear short of midfield options.
Bayern Munich’s Kerr returns but injury has this time seen Christy Grimshaw forced to pull out of the squad. In her place Martinéz Losa has called upon an experienced head for the first time during his tenure, 103 times capped Glasgow City midfielder, Hayley Lauder.
“She is very experienced and ahead of many players in terms of game understanding. Hayley has been a player that we had considered before. Some players can make it into the national team in a different way and her energy has made a difference.”
While the midfield options available have been a consequence of events outwith the Spaniards control how his side lines up in Leuven on Friday evening firmly remains within it, and having changed formation for both legs of the Netherlands double header that ultimately led to two defeats there was a suggestion that a tweak could come again, “We are in a position that we can pick and choose what is the best for the team, a formation can be a solution and selection is another one.”
One selection made for Scotland’s last encouter that caught some off guard was the inclusion of Sandy MacIver, chosen ahead of recently voted SWF International Player of the Year and Glasgow City No.1, Lee Gibson between the Scottish posts.
Who starts in Leuven doesn’t feel a given in either direction. Since that 1-0 loss to the Netherlands at Hampden MacIver has played just once, a 4-3 Conti Cup victory away to Liverpool on 8th November, and she remains behind both Khiara Keating and Ellie Roebuck in the City pecking order, although the mood music is starting to suggest Roebuck will seek a move come the turn of the year.
“What you want is a competitive environment and you want all the players to be ready to play”, explains Martinéz Losa about whether or not he has a Scotland No. 1, “If you have a number one you want them to be excellent but you want the other players who you can call upon to be that way too, it is a natural evolution of football to value what you have but also to assess the options we have for the future too and that includes everyone in the squad.”
It will be interesting to see who takes the gloves on Friday night. The more established Gibson, who celebrated 50 caps for her country during this campaign and has been at the epicentre of some of SWNT’s most significant moments of recent times, or recent debutant MacIver, highly regarded down south despite her lack of game time at club level and was awarded the Player of the Match against The Netherlands.
Whatever the choices made if Scotland are to defeat Belgium, achieving the first of two victories set out as an objective at the start of the campaign, then it will need formation, selection and performances individually and as a collective to combine to the fullest of it’s potential.
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