“I think I have a good baseline now to understand where we’re at.”
These were the first words Melissa Andreatta uttered in the aftermath of her Scotland debut, which not only ended in defeat, but with relegation to Nations League B.
When asked whether that baseline was higher or lower than she expected, the Australian replied: “I’m not sure, if I’m honest.”
In the first half, it had to be lower.
The Scots were second best to Austria, who left Hampden with all three deserved points thanks to Julia Hickelsberger’s front-post flick just after the hour mark.
Up until that point, and for 10 minutes after, Manuela Zinsberger in the Austria goal was merely a spectator, sunbathing in the Hampden glow.
A flurry of changes brought about some fight and finesse, but as Scotland shot-stopper and player of the match Lee Gibson said post-match it was, again, “too little, too late”.
This was never going to be a quick fix, an overnight job, an immediate turnaround. This transition will take time.
But, what can we take from Andreatta’s first game in charge?
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