STEWART Regan last night lavished praise on Anna Signeul after Scotland came from behind to beat Bosnia 3-1 and keep up their 100% record in their qualification group.
At the same time, the under-19 side defeated Russia 2-0 to book their place at July's European Championships after plundering maximum points from their qualification campaign.
It was more of a struggle for the senior side at the Bilino Polje stadium in Zenica, but a late hat trick by striker Jane Ross ensured that they, too, would finish the day on maximum points in their group.
The win, after Scotland had fallen behind in a game for the first time in the campaign, increases the advantage over Sweden to six points in Group 4, although the favourites now have two games in hand.
"I'm immensely proud of Anna Signeul," Regan, the Scottish Football Assocation chief executive, said. "Her development of Scottish women's football has been nothing short of remarkable."
That description also fits the recent scoring feats of Ross. After Monika Kulis had stunned the visitors with a 19th minute goal, the Scots did not get an equaliser until Ross fired in a low shot 28 minutes from time. She then added a diving header and a third to ensure a sixth Scotland win.
The goals were Ross' seventh, eighth and ninth in the group games, and as well as scoring a hat trick in the away game against Poland in October, she notched another against Australia in last month's Cyprus Cup.
"For Jane to score nine goals in six qualifiers is fantastic," commented Signeul. "She scored in the first half but it wasn't allowed to stand because Leanne Ross, who wasn't interfering with play at all, was offside.
"We didn't stretch Bosnia enough in the first half and we sent too many high balls into their box. But even although we were a goal down, at half-time the players were still so positive. We missed a lot of chances in the game but Jane showed the way in the last 30 minutes.
"We are very happy to have won our first six games. I'm also delighted that our under-19s have qualified for their finals. There has been a lot of success for the men's and women's teams recently and we have to thank the SFA board for supporting the performance department."
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