Andy Thomson urges Scotland not to panic ahead of vital Finland Euro qualifier

Andy Thomson insists there is no need for panic as Scotland Women’s side look to get their Euro 2022 qualification hopes back on track against Finland.

The 1-0 defeat against Portugal in Lisbon on Friday night was their second loss in a row and with three  Group E matches remaining, Scotland are in third place with nine points, four behind Finland and Portugal.

The Finns, who defeated Scotland 1-0 in October, travel to Easter Road for the reverse fixture on Tuesday night.

The Scots are aiming for their third successive qualification to a major finals and can get there as group winners, a best runner-up, or through the play-offs.

Scotland are without the physical presence of head coach Shelley Kerr who is self-isolating following a Covid-19 outbreak with the men’s Under-21 squad, and her assistant Thomson assessed the situation.

He said:  “Even though we know we didn’t play well enough and lost the games, we still know we are a good team. The difficulty is it is two games in a row we have lost.

“We know the magnitude of the game and we need to win.

“It is not time to panic, it’s just time to refocus and get back to the level that will win games.

“The clarity is you need to go and win. It just focuses your mind and you know what you need to go and do.

“It is never easy but at least you know what the black and white of the situation is.

“We had it in the last qualifying campaign against Poland away and Switzerland at home.

“We were 2-0 down in Poland with 15 minutes to go and we knew we had to win and we did win.

“We won against Switzerland so we have the experience of that and hopefully we can use that tomorrow night.”