YFS
Scotland were looking to end their UEFA Under-19 European Championship on a high note as they faced off against the Netherlands at the Simple Digital Arena on a sunny but windy Monday evening. The Scots - still recovering from their 4-0 defeat at the hands of Norway at Firhill - were hoping to catch out a talented Dutch outfit, who lost their last outing 3-1 to France.
It was another hard night, with two late goals sending Scotland to their second straight 4-0 defeat, as they were blitzed in the last ten minutes by a strong Dutch attack that exploited the Scots countless times down the wings. The score did not reflect another spirited Scotland performance, but the quality the Dutch possess overwhelmed them in the end.
Sadly for the Scots they did not take their early chance before falling behind. Jamie-Lee Napier stole the ball off Dutch centre-back Lieske Carleer, but against the angle her shot was directly at Dutch goalkeeper Daphne Van Domselaar. That would provide the young Scots one of their few ventures forward with the Netherlands controlling the majority of possession in the first half.
A big problem facing the Scottish defence was the powerful runs of Romee Leuchter down the right-hand side of the pitch. Her cross seven minutes in led to the visitors opening goal. The delivery came into the front post to be met by the boot of Lynn Wilms, who poked past Allison in the Scotland goal for 1-0.
Scotland seemed to have settled until the goal and lost a bit of confidence after that point. Which nearly led to the Dutch second. Brown’s back pass was stolen by Joelle Smits and as she cut back her shot with her left foot forced Allison into a fine diving save to keep the game in touch.
Allison was almost caught out a few moments later by Leuchter, her cross swerved towards goal last second, forcing her into another save.
Midway through the half Dutch fullback Levels forced a low cross in front of the Scots goal, only for Smits to just miss the shot and the chance to double the lead. For Scotland it was much like long periods of the Norway game where they seem to be struggling to keep possession.
That possession was finally reward for the Netherlands, as their captain scored the second goal just after the half-hour. Jenna Clark cleared a high ball out of the eight-yard box, only for her clearance to land at the feet of Marisa Olislagers, who launched a powerful shot into the bottom right of Allison’s goal. For Holland it seemed to be clear sailing at this stage, as they went in at the interval 2-0 up.