Abigail Harrison Sinks Austria to Put Scotland on Verge of World Cup

The moment was worthwhile for Scotland and Abigail Harrison to wait for. Before Harrison stooped to head the ball into Erin Cuthbert’s corner, this World Cup playoff semi-final had already gone into overtime. Harrison was ecstatic as Austria unsuccessfully requested a handball.

Tuesday’s matchup between Scotland and the Republic of Ireland at Hampden Park might determine who advances to Australia and New Zealand for the upcoming summer. The element of uncertainty results from a ridiculously perplexing playoff system.

On the basis of this information, the Scots would not challenge the top teams in the actual event, but it would be rude to dwell on such shortfalls. Scotland prevailed in this gloomy, tense conflict. Finals are rarely visually appealing. 10,182 spectators saw this game, which is a record for a competitive Scottish women’s game in Scotland.

Pedro Martnez Losa, the Scotland coach, stated, “We have spoken about inspiring, and I hope people felt that today. “We were acting with confidence.” Austria was a big pre-match favourite because they had advanced to the quarterfinals and semi-finals of two consecutive European Championships. Scotland didn’t even make it into the latter of those competitions. The visiting offence was anchored by Nicole Billa, who scored 13 goals during the group stages of qualifying.

But the hosts blinked brightly. Prior to Caroline Weir’s chipped attempt being stopped by the Austrian goalie, Martha Thomas nearly outraced Manuela Zinsberger to the ball while she was 18 yards from the goal. This evening seemed to be an attritional one given the miserable circumstances.

It wasn’t until halfway through the first half that Billa was given a chance to see the goal. The Hoffenheim forward’s curling shot hit Lee Alexander’s goal post. A potential Austrian counterattack has just been stopped by Scotland captain Rachel Corsie.

Scotland kept playing aggressively. Claire Emslie was only prevented from sending the hosts in front by Laura Wienroither’s timely and important intervention. Weir, who is currently playing for Real Madrid, played a crucial role in all of Scotland’s promising play.

Austria took the lead at the end of the first period. With a 20-yard shot, Julia Hickelsberger narrowly missed the target. However, the cheers at halftime were in appreciation of a solid Scottish performance.

A cautious second session suggested that players were beginning to realize the huge risks. Neither goalie had been forced into significant action at the hour mark. Scotland almost ran into trouble after Alexander fumbled a Verena Hanshaw free kick, but the ball was scrambled to safety. Scotland’s unexpected lack of creativity was caused by their failure to give Weir enough time with the ball.