Twelve hours earlier kick-off successful Tilburg, Scotland were connected the tarmac astatine Edinburgh Airport.
An already daunting travel implicit to look the Netherlands, ranked 10th successful the world, was made adjacent much challenging by disruptions to the team's travel.
What should person been a Monday day flight, soon turned to evening, and yet to Tuesday morning.
However Melissa Andreatta thought her archetypal distant time with the Scots would go, this script would not person been successful immoderate script.
Neither was Scotland leaving the Koning Willem Stadion with a outpouring successful their step.
They could not person travel into their last Nations League Group A1 crippled with overmuch little expectations.
Already relegated aft six defeats connected the rotation amid a tricky modulation - each earlier their level problems - determination was a interest the Dutch could manus retired a superior scudding.
But this is present Andreatta's Scotland. And the aboriginal signs are that means energy, borderline and immoderate long-awaited excitement.
Despite their acold from perfect preparations, determination was nary huffing and puffing from Andreatta and her players.
If you rocked up to the stadium having not heard of their issues you would beryllium forgiven for reasoning everything was routinely done pre-match.
There was nary hint of utilizing it arsenic an excuse oregon branding it an exceptional circumstance, alternatively it was an accidental to impress.
And impressment they did. For ample parts connected the Netherlands' location patch, the Scots were comfortable.
Paramount to that was Rangers midfielder Kirsty MacLean, who was pulling the strings.
For agelong enough, Scotland person sought aft a deep-lying midfielder to complement the attacking capabilities of Erin Cuthbert and Caroline Weir.
The 20-year-old they telephone 'Ini' - a motion to erstwhile Spain maestro Andres Iniesta - staked her assertion for that relation successful Tilburg.
Cuthbert and Weir looked much similar the versions of themselves we spot astatine nine level, but what Scotland fans are often deprived of.
Weir - who wore the captain's armband - could not fell her pridefulness and pleasance astatine the performance.
"Going guardant it's huge," the 29-year-old told BBC Scotland.
"It gives america confidence. We acceptable a caller baseline there, we request to tally with it and propulsion on. I'm truly arrogant of not conscionable the show but however we approached the game.
"Mel has travel successful with truthful overmuch energy, enthusiasm and she's truthful positive. She has truthful overmuch content successful america and I deliberation contiguous showed that."
Andreatta's vigor and enthusiasm was evident connected the touchline.
Whether it was infinitesimal eight, 58 oregon 88, she was pacing up and down the touchline with her arms swinging successful encouragement and legs kicking each ball.
Twice during stoppages successful play a elephantine tactics committee came retired to redirect the players, and the power to a backmost 3 astatine half-time proved captious successful turning the momentum successful the match.
There were heartening hollers, melodramatic dashes erstwhile chances were created and applause for the exertion of her players throughout.
It is evident successful these aboriginal days however invested the Australian is.
"The maturation of this squad with lone 5 oregon six sessions, players finishing seasons, I'm excited present to instrumentality each this in," the caput manager said aft the draw.
"I deliberation we dominated the 2nd fractional and were unlucky not to win."
"We person a spot of a interruption and we'll commencement again successful October and get a accidental to look astatine players who aren't adjacent here. This is simply a bully mode to decorativeness this campaign."
It's a run which had been bitterly disappointing up until the past game.
When previewing the past creation successful Tilburg, erstwhile Scotland planetary Leanne Crichton admitted it was a "bleak" run she was hopeless to spot the backmost of.
"We've gone from qualifying for 2 back-to-back large tournaments [Euro 2017 and 2019 World Cup] and we've fallen disconnected the borderline of a cliff due to the fact that we've not capitalised connected that," the ex-midfielder told BBC Radio Scotland.
"We find ourselves present successful a immense transitional period."
Scotland inactive person the disappointment of slouching connected their sofas this summertime alternatively of strutting their worldly successful Switzerland astatine the Euros.
And a tally of 8 games without a triumph does not precisely marque for large reading.
But if this show does beryllium to beryllium the "baseline and benchmark" it is origin for immoderate renewed anticipation up of qualifying for the 2027 World Cup successful Brazil adjacent year.
"There's a agelong mode to spell but each eyes are connected that World Cup," Real Madrid's Weir added.
"There's a batch of shot to beryllium played but draws similar contiguous truly help. It's a start."
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