Defeats do not dishearten duo

By Paul Saffer

The addition of a fifth-place play-off means only two teams have departed the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship - but the coaches of both Hungary and Scotland are not disheartened by their respective exits.

Impressive bows
Neither nation had played in these finals before, but right from the start they showed they were not just making up the numbers. On Matchday 1, hosts Hungary pushed favourites Germany all the way before losing 2-0, while Scotland made life difficult for neighbours England in a game that ended 3-1.

Rapid improvement
Scotland even led France two days later before again succumbing 3-1, and only with their campaign effectively over did they go down 5-0 to a Russia team battling for a semi-final berth. Hungary, meanwhile, fell 2-0 to Finland and 4-1 to Switzerland, but both those sides had competed in last year's finals and coach Edina Markó can look back at a season of rapid improvement.

'Not experienced enough'
She told uefa.com: "We are not experienced enough to compete with the top teams at an event like this, but I can tell that we have developed so much within one year and these three matches have helped us to accelerate our improvement."

Finland example
Markó will take encouragement from the performance of Finland, the country that ended any hopes of Hungary going through. Last year, as hosts, the Finns lost all their games - starting with Germany and ending against Switzerland - but this time sailed into the last four. The staging of the 2004 tournament was also a stepping stone in the general development of Finnish female football, as evidenced by their run to the UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™ semi-finals.

New tasks
Indeed, Markó says the onus is now on the Hungarian Football Federation to use this championship as a launch pad. "We did our job but the federation also has to work for several years on Hungarian women's football," she said. "Everybody has their own task but after this tournament we saw what football at international level means."

Upbeat Gervaise
Her Scottish counterpart, Tony Gervaise, also departs in upbeat mood. His team's perfect record in qualifying - scoring 33 goals - was matched only by Russia, and they were perhaps unfortunate to be put in a group which even an England side boasting two stars of EURO 2005™ failed to successfully negotiate.

'Learning experience'
Gervaise said: "We can only take positives back home from this tournament. First, it raises the awareness in Scotland about women's football - after all we qualified for a European Championship final tournament! Obviously this level is a bit too high for us at the moment, but as a learning experience for me as a coach and for all the players, this has been magnificent.

'Top-class athletes'
"We cannot compare our background with France, who train daily together at their Clairefontaine centre, but we played well against them and scored a beautiful goal. The players saw top-class athletes from other countries, and realise much better now what it takes to become an élite player."