THEY may have been playing Jamaica's Sunshine Girls but the final score was a little gloomy for Scotland in their Commonwealth Games preliminary-round match at the SECC in Glasgow.
The Scottish Thistles have been drawn in a tough group with the might of world No.2 New Zealand and No.4-ranked Jamaica with which to contest. After a brilliant opening match where Scotland comfortably beat St Lucia 58-30 on Friday, their tussle with New Zealand, aka the formidable Silver Ferns, on Saturday finished 71-14 in favour of the Kiwis.
Captain Lesley MacDonald scored the first goal against Jamaica but by the end of the first quarter the Scots were down 17-8, with the deficit 31-15 by the halfway point.
After a ropey third quarter Scotland trailed 51-18. They fought back to stem the damage in the final quarter as Jamaica won 68-26. Jamaica have declared they will not leave Glasgow satisfied with anything less than a podium finish. They moved that ambition forward with juggernaut-like force.
Their star goal shooter Romelda Aiken, who stands a lofty 6ft 5in in her stocking soles, at times made it look deceptively easy as she set the goal tally soaring.
Afterwards Aiken reiterated Jamaica's intent to do well in the Games. "We definitely feel we can go a long way," she said. "We've been putting in the hard work and so far it's been paying off. We are looking for nothing less than to beat all the other teams."
She may have played a major role in the defeat of the host nation, but Aiken had nothing but praise for Scotland. "We don't think any game will be comfortable," she said. "Scotland fought and we had to play hard."
Usain Bolt has said he is keen to see the women he referred to as the "reggae girls" in action at the Games but yesterday the six-time Olympic champion was a no-show.
Not that Aiken seemed overly bothered. "We were concentrating on our game," she said, shrugging.
Scotland's June McNeill, whose role as goal keeper pitched her against the towering Jamaican Aiken, said the Thistles would draw "a lot of positives" from the match.
"It was an excellent experience for us," she said. "Jamaica are super-talented but we thought we gave a really good performance. We're pleased with the result and looking to build on that."
The Scots will have a rest day today before playing Malawi tomorrow. Their final match in the preliminary rounds is against Northern Ireland on Wednesday.
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