TODAYS HERALD REPORTS

Beattie: a familiar name leads Scotland�s charge

NEIL DRYSDALE July 07 2008
It was a mission which proved beyond their senior counterparts, but Scotland's under-19 women footballers have qualified for the European Championship and journeyed to France yesterday with the ebullience of a party who have risen through the ranks together and consequently regard entry to these major tournaments as challenges to relish, not fear.

Other individuals might be apprehensive about the prospect of confronting Sweden, England and the defending champions, Germany, in the space of seven days, but teenagers such as Celtic's Jennifer Beattie, the daughter of the former rugby internationalist, John, possess a maturity belying their tender years.

"It's a huge task, and nobody is pretending that it will be easy, but we have shown how much the standard of the women's game has risen in Scotland and this is a terrific opportunity to move up to the next level," said Beattie.

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"It probably helps that people such as myself and the Arsenal striker Kim Little have already turned out for the senior national team, because we know what to expect when the campaign starts today against Sweden in Amboise.

"We have also played against the likes of Sweden and Germany in the past and acquitted ourselves pretty well, so while we have respect for the opposition, we are certainly not afraid of anybody.

"It's a tough schedule at the competition, but that's the same for the other seven countries in the mix, so we are going into this with the attitude that these chances don't happen too often, so we have to make the most of them and demonstrate to the rest of Europe how far we have progressed."

With that approach, it is hardly surprising that the squad's coach, Ritchie Wilson, is confident that we could be on the cusp of a halcyon period for women's football in Scotland.

Not so long ago, the sport struggled to attract positive headlines, and was largely bereft of sponsors and spectators, but the situation has recently been transformed with the emergence of a clutch of excellent players such as Beattie, Little, Hibernian's Natalie Ross and Aberdeen's Rachel Corsie, the national team captain.

"There is a huge amount of belief among the girls and they proved their mettle by beating Denmark to secure their place in the UEFA Championships," said Wilson.

"A draw would have been enough for the Danes, but our youngsters produced a gritty, totally committed performance and thoroughly deserved their 2-1 victory, so they are travelling to France to get stuck in and collect one of the two qualifying spots.

"Of course, it will be hard. We are in with the elite now, and we have to hit the ground running with the matches bunched together in a short time frame.

"But I am very, very impressed with their work ethic, their team spirit and desire to learn, and nobody in this squad is content with being a teenage starlet. They all want to play for Scotland at the highest level."


FIXTURES
Monday, July 7 Scotland v Sweden (Amboise) Thursday, July 10 Scotland v England (Avoine) Sunday, July 13 Scotland v Germany (Amboise)

This article was originally posted on 7-Jul-2008, 07:27 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 7-Jul-2008, 12:17.