It started badly in Helsinki and went downhill from there as Scotland lost their European Championship play-off to Finland last night.
Goals from Natalia Kuikka and Nea Lehtola had Scotland firmly on the back foot before this game had hit the half-hour mark, with the scoreline in no way flattering the hosts.
It now means that three successive major tournaments have passed Scotland by, two of which have come under the guidance of Pedro Martinez Losa.
Serious question marks must now hang over the future of the Spaniard who signed a four-year contract extension last September.
He had gone into last night’s game on the back of a sequence of nine games unbeaten, a run that stretched all the way through this year.
The problem for Martinez Losa, though, is that Scotland struggle when it comes to the crunch. And the only stats that matter is qualification for major tournaments.
Martha Thomas and Lisa Evans pick over the bones of a painful defeat in Helsinki
The Scots are flattened after Nea Lehtola’s sucker-punch second goal for Finland
Pedro Martinez Losa was left with plenty to ponder after another limp play-off failure
They lost out to an average Republic of Ireland side in play-off for the World Cup just over two years ago, while in his three-year tenure Scotland have beaten teams in the top 30 only three times. Of that trio, there was only one in a competitive game.
The galling aspect of last night’s defeat was that it came as no real surprise. Across a 180-minute tie, Scotland failed to score, with the same old problems haunting them when it comes to the games that matter.
Finland were the better of the teams at Easter Road on Friday night and while they failed to breach Scotland’s rearguard, they had easily been the more menacing side.
The opening minutes were a portent of what was to come. The Finns had started with energy and purpose, hitting the crossbar inside the opening minutes when Lehtola rattled an effort off the woodwork. Sanni Franssi somehow contrived to turn the rebound wide of the post with the goal gaping at her mercy.
Eartha Cumings was then forced into action to deny Evelina Summanen but Scotland failed to heed the warning signs — and paid the inevitable price.
Kuikka was allowed to unleash an effort from the edge of the box, with her well-struck shot beating Cumings before flying into the roof of the net.
It seemed to jolt Scotland into action. Caroline Weir’s free-kick fell to Sophie Howard at the back post but Finland were able to scramble the ball clear.
As the Scots looked to try and force their way back into the game, Finland dealt them a sucker punch.
Natalia Kuikka celebrates after her long-range opener set the impressive hosts on their way
Lehtola’s effort seemed to take a deflection off Howard to wrongfoot Cumings and leave Scotland with the proverbial mountain to climb.
To their credit, they stuck at it. Erin Cuthbert ought to have netted after she volleyed just wide of the post.
Next up, Howard got up to get a head onto Weir’s corner, one of a succession that Scotland had forced, with her effort tipped over the bar.
Martha Thomas just missed connecting with yet another corner but Scotland’s real frustration came just before the interval when they were denied what looked like a certain penalty.
Certainly, the Scotland players and coaching staff were furious that there was no spot-kick from referee Ewa Augustyn after Cuthbert had tried to get a shot away from just inside the box.
Ria Oling seemed to charge the effort down with both hands — they certainly appealed to be in an unnatural position — with Martinez Losa’s shouts for a penalty clearly audible from the dug-out.
Kirsty Hanson goes on a charge forward but the Scots were ultimately found wanting up front
He was incensed, as was assistant Leanne Ross, while Cuthbert was among the Scotland players who protested when the whistle sounded for half-time.
In truth, while there were arguments for the penalty, the real frustration would have been the fact that Scotland were in the position they were in.
The second half continued in the same vein with Scotland enjoying ample possession, but the burning issue remains the same; having the ball and doing something with it are two very different things.
Sam Kerr hit the woodwork, which proved to be the nearest that Scotland came to finding a way through and forcing their way back into the game.
Ultimately, though, it was a night when the Scots looked to run out of ideas the longer the encounter went on.
A lack of urgency became as notable as the lack of creativity and as the minutes started to tick away there was a growing sense of inevitability about the outcome.
Caroline tries to play her way through the Finnish defence but was unable to break through
Martinez Losa’s shouts could be heard from his technical area as the Euros dream ebbed away but they increasingly sounded like the shouts of a man who knows that his time may well be up.
Kuikka prevented Jenna Clark from bundling the ball over the line at the death and that moment seemed to encapsulate all that went wrong for Scotland on the night.
It will be a painful summer as another tournament passes by without Scotland at it. There were tears on the pitch as the whistle blew but where this team go from here will take deeper reflection.
Finland (5-4-1): Korpela; Koivisto, Kuikka, Nystrom, Tynnila, Lehtola
(Hartikainen 90); Siren (Ahtinen 62), Oling, Summanen, Franssi (Engman 90);
Sallstrom (Sevenius 74). Booked: Nystrom.
Manager: Marko Saloranta.
Scotland (4-3-3): Cumings; Smith (Evans 70), Howard, Clark, Docherty (Mukandi 70); Weir, Kerr, Cuthbert; Emslie (Watson 62), Hanson, Thomas. Booked: Docherty.
Manager: Pedro Martinez Losa.
Referee: Ewa Augustyn (Poland).
Attendance: N/A.