EYES ON THE

PRIZEScotland Womenstroll through the

World Cupqualifiers

SO, after almost 11 months sincethe last competitive InternationalMatch, the Women’s World CupQualifying campaign is finally offand running and the Road toCanada 2015 has begun. First upfor us was a trip to the Faroe Islands,followed by the opening home fixture at Fir Parkversus Bosnia herzegovina a few days later.This was my first time travelling to this scenic,mountainous and very green looking part of theworld, however I felt very at home with the northerlybreeze and sheep-filled fields – and it was arguablyone of the most relaxing and enjoyable nationalteam camps I have been a part of.Too add to my enjoyment of course was the result.A strong performance and a 7-2 victory meant thatwe started the campaign as we hope to go on – topof the group.Furthermore, a relatively rare appearance on thescore sheet added to the overall satisfaction of theopening encounter, after a ‘glancing’ header in thefirst 10 minutes got us off to a great start. (Kimmie- I promise I did get a touch on it.)The following day we jetted off back to edinburghfor part two of the double header - departing alongthe very narrow ‘runway’ between the evennarrower hillsides. The typically most efficient routewas for us to fly over Scotland to Copenhagenbefore heading back to the capital – a bizarrely longday of travelling, given the island is not far north ofour own Scottish Isles. Nevertheless we arrived home in one piece… wellminus a few squad bags. Jane Ross and SuzanneLappin’s luggage was left behind in Denmark.Fortunately for them and their room-mates, theyarrived promptly the next morning so sharingknickers wasn’t required.

The media attention began tosurge in the build up to thesecond game, especially with thegoal spree and result of theopener – which is something thatI know is a great motivator for thegirls in recognition of the hardwork that goes into our performances. So it is greato see such keen interest growing again.The day before the game, we got our first taster oFir Park: an important opportunity to get a feel fothe playing surface and a look around the stadiumOn behalf of all the girls, I must thank all staff aMotherwell FC who were all very welcoming anparticularly the ground staff who ensured the pitcwas immaculate for the match.It was also great to see over 1000 fans turn ouwhen the game was also televised live on BBC Alband once again we struck a goal spectacular for athose who watched. Another lucky seven, this timwith no reply from the visitors, meant that wextended our advantage at the top of Group Fouwith maximum points from the first two games. Not only this, but if me scoring once wasn’t rarenough, scoring in two consecutive matches most definitely unheard of!The current squad and positivity within the teammakes it a great environment to be involved in jusnow. The team appears to have matured over thlast 12 months, and despite its youthful nature thprofessionalism and determination is at an optimumlevel.Not only on the park, but off the pitch there currently a very relaxed and calm atmosphere anthe closely knit group that we currently have whelp us to hopefully thrive in matches to come.Thanks again for all the support and I really hopyou can continue it for the whole campaign.

RACHEL CORSIE celebrates two wins out of two as Scotland set out on the trail for the Women’s World Cup

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It was great to see over 1000 fans turn out when the game was also televised live on BBC Alba and once again we struck a goalspectacular

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Ross showswho’s bossStriker follows up opener against NorthernIreland with a hat-trick away to Poland

JANe ROSS grabbed her firstinternational hat-trick asScotland enjoyed a 4-0victory away to Poland. TheVittsjo GIK striker took hertally to six goals in fourqualifiers, and Jo Love added the fourth, asScotland maintained their 100% record afteran entertaining encounter in front of over 4,000fans.Poland started with purpose and had thebest of the opening exchanges.After 10 minutes Sikora sent a cross in to thebox, which was cleared by Jennifer Beattieas far as Pożerska, but her shot was held byGemma Fay.Sikora showed her pace when she racedtowards the Scotland goal, but she was

tracked all the way by Rachel Corsie, andher weak effort was held by Fay. WithPoland gaining a foothold, Scotland’sopener came at the perfect time.Megan Sneddon won the ball in midfield andfound Kim Little who cut back for Jane Rossto calmly slot a low shot past Kiedrzynek.Scotland doubled the lead just before half-time when Ross met Lauder's cross from theleft wing at the near post and fired in to thenet from close-range.She sealed her hat-trick directly after the re-start, with Lauder the provider once more.Pajor was sent off after a second yellowcard, then Love wrapped up the win in the65th minute. Little controlled the ball on theedge of the box and found Love, who curledthe ball around Kiedrzynek.

SCOTLAND claimed theirthird win of the World Cup2015 qualifying campaignas goals from Jane Rossand Jennifer Beattiesecured three points againstNorthern Ireland.The Scots headed into the match top ofGroup 4 after emphatic 7-2 and 7-0 victoriesover the Faroe Islands and Bosniarespectively in their opening two games andstrengthened their position further with this2-0 home win.They enjoyed the best possible start to theclash at Fir Park when Ross capitalised ona mistake by the Northern Ireland defenceto dispatch the opening goal beyond emmahiggins after just three minutes.The visitors tried to hit back through Lynda

Shepherd but her 25-yard drive failed totrouble Gemma Fay in the Scotland goal.Sarah McFadden came even closer with aheader from a corner that flashed just wideof the upright.Despite those chances, Scotland dominatedthe first half in terms of possession but werefrustrated in their attempts to add to theirearly opener.The home side could have doubled theirlead after the restart when Ross turnedprovider for Suzanne Lappin but she curleda half-volley past the post.however, the points were safe with 78minutes on the clock when Beattie rifled aright foot shot past higgins to put the gamebeyond Northern Ireland as Scotland tookanother step towards the finals in Canada.

SCOTLAND continuedtheir fantastic form asthey made it five out offive, with a hard-foughtvictory over Poland.The win sees the Scotsremain clear of Sweden at the top ofGroup Four with goal difference of 20,as captain Gemma Fay made it fourclean sheets in a row, with anothershut-out in front of 1,551 fans.Anna Signeul made just the onechange from the side that lost out onpenalties to South Korea in the thirdplace playoff at the Cyprus Cup, withMegan Sneddon coming in to replaceNicola Docherty.Rachel Corsie and Jennifer Beattiestarted in the centre of defencein front of Fay, with FrankieBrown on the right andhayley Lauder occupy-ing the left-back slot.Sneddon came intothe centre of midfieldalongside Kim Little,whilst Little moved forward, with LeanneRoss roaming on theright wing and JoanneLove on the left. Lisa evansand Jane Ross played as a fronttwo, as the Scots looked to add totheir goalscoring record in the group.After being frustrated throughout thefirst half, Scotland finally got the

breakthrough seven minutes into thesecond period when Little showed herskill to set-up the opener, sliding theball round the Polish defence, forevans to slot it home.

With the opening goal secured,Scotland continued to look

for a second; using thebest route, goingdown the wings,where both Polishfull backs lookedexposed, and thatgave the Scots thespace to put the ball

into the danger zone.eight minutes from

time, Little jinked her waydown the right side, before

her cross was expertly headed backby evans into the path of Crichton,who made sure to get over the ball inorder to direct it into the goal.

Poles it har Little a lon for su

Jane Ross scored a second-halfas Scotland came from behind tobeat Bosnia 3-1 in their WorldCup qualifier.

Monika Kulis gave Bosnia asurprise lead but Scotland foughtback to move six points clear atthe top of Group 4.

It was Anna Signeul's sixthconsecutive victory in thequalifiers ahead of May's Fir Parkclash with group favouritesSweden.

The Scots had ran out 7-0winners against Bosnia earlier inthe campaign but they found itmuch trickier in the Balkans.

Kulis's fired a long-range effortbeyond Gemma Fay within 18minutes as the home sideshowed they would be nopushovers this time.

Leanne Crichton bundled theball in to the net soon afterfollowing a melee in the penaltybox, but was flagged offside.

Ross had a penalty claimwaved away after colliding with

Bosniangoalkeeperenverahasanbegovicbefore she rifledhome theequaliser after Lisa evans's shotwas blocked.

The Vittsjo GIK striker put theScots ahead in the 74th minutewith a diving header and sealedher hat-trick with four minutesremaining following good work byevans.Bosnia-herzegovina:hasanbegovic, Spahic (c),Nikolic, Fetahovic, Aida hadžic,Kuliš, M hasanbegovic,Dijakovic, Kuliš, Radeljic, Crnjak.Subs: hodžic, Jašarevic, Almahadžic, Boškan, Kadric, Mujkic,Ahmic. Scotland: Fay (c), L Ross,Lauder, Little, Sneddon, Crichton,evans, J Ross, Beattie, Brown,Docherty. Subs: Lynn, McSorley,hunter, Love, C Murray, J Murray,Richards

Ross hat-trick helpsmaintain momentum

s make rd bute goes

g way uccess

Scotland moves six ponts clear at the top

5 54 32 235 15 0

England WalesUkraineBelrusTurkeyMontenegro

6 4 1 4 26 3 +23 136 4 1 4 21 7 +14 134 4 0 0 18 2 +16 124 2 0 2 13 13 0 66 1 0 5 2 26 -24 36 0 0 6 2 31 -29 0

NetherlandsBelgiumNorwayPortugalAlbaniaGreece

6 55 34 14 13 14 0

SpainItalyRomaniaCzech RepublicEstoniaMacedonia

6 6 0 0 43 2 +41 184 2 1 1 8 4 +4 73 2 0 1 6 10 -4 65 1 0 4 2 13 -11 34 1 0 3 4 21 -17 34 0 1 3 1 14 -13 1

GermanyIrelandRussiaSlovakiaSloveniaCroatia

THE REST OF EUROPEGroup 1

Group 5

Group 2

Group 6

P W D L F A G P P

P W D L F A G P P

5 5 0 0 38 1 +37 154 4 0 0 9 1 +8 125 3 0 2 15 6 +9 94 2 0 2 8 8 0 66 0 1 5 2 19 -17 16 0 1 5 2 39 -37 1

FranceFinlandAustriaHungaryKazakhstanBulgaria

5 0 0 29 0 +29 153 0 1 9 3 +6 92 0 0 5 1 +4 61 0 2 3 8 -5 31 0 4 4 19 -15 30 0 5 3 22 -19 0

5 5 0 0 28 0 +28 153 2 0 1 3 3 0 64 2 0 2 5 7 -2 63 1 1 1 6 2 +4 45 1 1 3 6 15 -9 44 0 0 4 0 21 -21 0

SwitzerlandIcelandIsraelDenmarkSerbiaMalta

5 1 0 24 23 +22 163 1 1 12 4 +8 101 1 2 9 3 +6 41 1 2 6 10 -4 41 0 4 3 11 -8 30 0 4 2 26 -24 0

6 6 0 0 25 3 +22 184 4 0 0 12 0 +12 125 2 0 3 9 8 +1 65 0 2 3 2 12 -10 25 0 1 3 0 9 -9 25 0 1 3 3 19 -16 2

SCOTLANDSwedenPolandBosniaNorthern IrelandFaroe Islands

Group 4

Group 3

Group 7

P W D L F A G P

W D L F A G P P W D L F A G P

W D L F A G P P W D L F A G P

FIXTURESFaroes v Poland May 8Sweden v Northern Ireland May 8Faroe Islands v Poland June 6SCOTLAND v Sweden June 14Bosnia herz v Northern Ireland June 14Northern Ireland v SCOTLAND June 19Bosnia herz v Poland June 18Faroe Islands v Sweden June 19Bosnia herz v Faroe Islands Aug 20Poland v Sweden Aug 21Poland v Northern Ireland Sept 13SCOTLAND v Faroe Islands Sept 13Northern Ireland v Faroe Islands Sept 17Poland v Bosnia herz Sept 17 Sweden v SCOTLAND Sept 17

RESULTSSweden 2-0 Poland Sept 21Faroe Islands 2-7 Scotland Sep 22tPoland 6-0 Faroe Islands Sept 26Scotland 7-0 Bosnia Herz Oct 26Bosnia Herz 0-1 Sweden Oct 26Scotland 2-0 Northern Ireland Oct 26Northern Ireland 0-0 Bosnia Herz Oct 26Poland 0-4 Scotland Oct 31Sweden 5-0 Faroe Islands Oct 26Northern Ireland 0-3 Poland Nov 23Scotland 2-0 Poland Apr 5Faroe Islands 1-1 Bosnia Herz Apr 5Northern Ireland 0-4 Sweden Apr 5

Northe

SCOTLAND international Rachael Sm tipped Aberdeen to be the side that finally the Glasgow stranglehold on women's fooGlasgow City last season clinched their ssuccessive title and are on course to equ unbeaten domestic record.however the 28-times capped full-back, back at the Dons for a second spell, say could be a new threat from the North-eas“I don't see any reason why we can't squad which will be able to challenge GCity,” said the former Northfield Academ “however we know it won't happen overni it will take hard work.“There is plenty of talent up north and spfrom experience if things aren't working will look to move elsewhere, so we will h do our best to keep improving and attract to the club.“With the facilities and team morale I do any reason why that can't happen.”The club is almost unrecognisable from t Small left in 2010 to fulfill her ambitions of at the top level. A dramatic last minute against Celtic saw Aberdeen pip Farmington for a place in the top six, ironic club Small had left the Dons for.As the interest in women's football conti grow, so does the Aberdeen Ladies side. N 21 year old believes she's making a step returning, rather than taking a step back.She revealed: “I was made aware that Abhad requested to speak to me about my p

T HIS time last year Cumbernauld Colts (thenAirdrie Ladies) sat second bottom of the firstdivision having only won three games. Fast forward 12 months and this year we have wonseven out of our 11 opening games, remain

unbeaten at home and have accumulated 22 points sofar, the exact same total for the whole of last season.

This, quite frankly, amazing transformation was summedup in the last game against Hearts, before the summerbreak. We went into half time 1-0 down having notplayed well at all but in the second half came out andfought for a well-earned draw.

It’s not the first time this season we have come backfrom going down a goal to take something from the game.Only last week we came from behind to knock PremierLeague side Buchan out of the Scottish Cup, on theirown pitch. Earlier on in the season we came from 1-0down to defeat Celtic Reserves 2-1, a team who took 9goals off us last season.

The difference between this year and last is night andday. It’s a pleasure to go to training, the morale within theteam is great and everyone really seems to be enjoyingtheir football. We have the exact same squad as last yearand one of the main reasons for this massive turn aroundhas to go to the set up at Cumbernauld Colts.

Towards the end of last season we, as a team, decided itwas time to move to move on from Airdrie United afteran offer from Cumbernauld Colts to join their set up.There were no personal reasons for this and will alwaysbe grateful to the support Airdrie United gave us whenwe were a part of their club. However, they couldn’toffer us the same facilities as Cumbernauld Colts whichwas a massive reason behind us switching clubs.

The current set up we have is fantastic. We have accessto wonderful stadium facilities, gym classes, goal keepercoaching and we get to play all our home games atBroadfield Stadium. The support we have received fromall the other Colts teams since we joined has beennothing short of phenomenal.

On behalf of the team I would like thank everyoneinvolved at Cumbernauld but in particular to the ‘gaffer’Stuart MacKenzie, his support and the opportunity hepresented to us has been amazing.

The second half of the season kicks off in just over threeweeks and we all can’t wait to get it started andhopefully continue to do well.

Whatever happens, we can all be proud as a team at howfar we have come in such a short amount of time andhopefully we can continue in that vein.

KEEPING it REALwith Cumbernauld Colts shot-stopper EILIDH ROE

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the second half of the season, and after hearingwhat they had to say I made the decision toreturn to the club.“The club is definitely a lot more professional nowcompared to when I was last here. everyone isdetermined to attend training sessions and put in100% effort. Off the pitch things seem to be runmuch better as well. There are big sponsorscoming in along with the fantastic facilities thatare being provided.”She added: “I have been struggling for quitesome time now with the costs of travelling andthe amount of time it was taking up. My lifestylewasn't great in terms of eating right andrecovering correctly, so I felt this was the bestmove for me.”Interest in women's football has seen a revivalsince with the european Championships inSweden, and last season fans from the Aberdeen

Red Ultras turned out to support the girls’ side atSunnybank's heathryfold Park.Small hopes more local football fans will comeout to support AFC Ladies as the new Women'sPremier League campaign gets underway.She said: “I would like to believe that the euroswill attract people to come out and watch theSWPL, however I do feel that it would havehelped massively if Scotland had qualified for theeuros, and received the exposure that theseteams have been getting.”The Scots were denied a place at the finals in aplay-off with Spain last October. Seconds awayfrom qualification on the away goals rule, theSpanish broke Scottish hearts with literally thelast kick of the ball, winning 4-3 on aggregate.That hurt has yet to go away, especially with thetournament currently in full flow, but Small isdetermined that Scotland will be in Canada forthe 2015 World Cup.She said: “Scotland haven't played a competitivegame in a while but I know the girls take everygame as if it is competitive and have got somefantastic results against teams ranked above us.“Things are looking positive leading up to theWorld Cup qualifiers starting later this year and Ihope to get myself back fit and challenging for aplace in the squad.“I've had many problems with injuries, but thanksfully I am starting to see some light at the end ofthe tunnel. I have a lot of work still to be done toget back to 100% but I know I'm working hard andwill just have to be patient.”

Aberdeen are developing anedge that will surely bringGlasgow domination to anend, warns Rachael Small

1

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4

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78

910

How manytimes haveGlasgowCity beenPremierLeaguechampions? Which

Scotlandinternationalmoved fromForfarFarmingtonto Aberdeenlast season?

Which threeScotlandplayers werein the 2012Team GBOlympicsquad?

Where is the2015 WorldCup beingheld?

AllScotland'sWorld Cupqualifiers arebeing held atFir Park, butwhere didthey playtheir Euro2013qualifiers?

What wasthe scorelast timeScotlandplayedEngland?

... and, whoare thecurrentholders?

Hibs menhaven't wonthe ScottishCup since1902, butwhen didHibernianLadies lastwin the cup?

Which Scotland international

is thisan

anagram of?Lamb Macke

Which club doesScotlandgoal-keeperGemmaFayplay for?3 5

Think you’re so clever, eh?Here’s our quiz for younger readers. Test your knowledge of the women’s game in Scotland. Answers below. (And no peeking!)

ANSWERS: 1: 8; 2: Rachael Small; 3: Celtic; 4: 2009/10; 5: Emma Black; 6: Kim Little, Jane Ross and Ifeoma Dieke; 7: Canada; 8: Japan; 9: Tynecastle 10: 4-4

How on earth did I get myself into this?For as long as I

remember I havebeen watching andplaying it.

My dad would have iton the TV, so I guess Ipicked it up from himwhen I was really youngand I started playing in

the playground at schoolwhen I was 6.

I loved David Beckham,he was my favouriteplayer. In terms of myposition though theplayer who I would look

up to would be PepeReina. he was the firstgoalkeeper I had seenthat was really good withthe ball at his feet andalways makes it lookeffortless.

Glasgow City goalkeeper Lee Alexanderlooks back on her introduction to football