Scotland beat Czech Republic 2-0 in Women's World Cup play-off first leg as Cuthbert returns
Scotland ease to first-leg win in Pardubice
Erin Cuthbert expressed joy and relief at making her first appearance of the season as Scotland beat the Czech Republic 2-0 in the Women's World Cup round-one play-off away leg in Pardubice.
The victory puts Scotland in a strong position ahead of the return in Paisley on Tuesday, with Sweden the likely opponent for the team that progresses.
Cuthbert back after long recovery
Chelsea captain Cuthbert, 28, is yet to feature at club level this season following a knee injury and came on as a substitute in Pardubice.
"It's so good," Cuthbert told BBC Scotland. "It's been such a long summer. It's always great to come on and play for my country again - I'll never take it for granted when I get a serious injury."
"I'm just glad to get back on a football pitch. The relief, the amount of self-doubt that you have, the amount of stress - am I going to be back to the same level, how am I going to perform, is my knee going to be alright? All those things run through your head."
"It was a bad one. I was in crutches and a brace for the best part of a month. I lost a fair amount of muscle and over the summer I was trying to rebuild all of that again. It's been a really, really hard journey."
Weir and Emslie strike
Fellow substitute Claire Emslie finished superbly for Scotland's second after captain Caroline Weir's stunning opener, described as "a moment of magic".
Emslie scored her first goal since becoming a mum, with her son and mother attending the game in Pardubice.
"I'm incredibly proud of her," Cuthbert said of Emslie. "I have an enormous amount of respect for her. Everything's just so impressive - to be a mum, to play at the highest level."
Controversy and caution
The Czech Republic were given a late reprieve when the award of a penalty was overturned but, soon after, Cuthbert was "flabbergasted" a late challenge on her in the box did not result in a spot-kick.
While Cuthbert was "delighted" with the win, she cautioned that 2-0 can be a "dangerous" lead.
"We're a good team and when we play on the front foot, we can hurt teams," she added. "The best form of attack is defence."