The Edinburgh Reporter January 2020

The Edinburgh Reporter
30 SPORT
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Historic plaque marks the spot
by John Hislop
A plaque to commemorate the
first ever international women’s
football match between Scotland
and England was unveiled recently
by Joe Fitzpatrick MSP, Minister
for Health, Sport and Wellbeing.
The fixture which Scotland won
3-0 took place on May 7, 1881 at
what was then Hibernian Park but
is now the club rooms and car
park of the Hibernian Supporters'
Association in Sunnyside.
The Scotland women’s team
head coach Shelley Kerr, and
Hibernian Ladies’ captain Joelle
Murray attended the event along
with Ian Young, Chairman of
Hibernian Historic Trust and Tom
Wright the Hibernian curator and
club historian.
Mr Fitzpatrick said: “I’m so
pleased to be able to join everyone
here today to celebrate the first
international women’s football
match here in Edinburgh.
“Our women’s football team
have come on so far in recent
years and they did really well in
the World Cup and they are doing
really well to progress to the
next championships in 2121 in
England.
Joelle Murray said: “It’s
absolutely massive, and with
women’s football growing so fast
at the moment there’s no better
time to have a plaque.
“It’s great to see the club
supporting this and so many
people going along as well.
“I’m proud of the women who
played that day - they were
pioneers of the women’s game
and their passion, dedication
and commitment at a time when
women’s football was widely
looked down upon is admirable.
“There were a lot of hurdles and
challenges that those women
faced back then."
FOSROC SRU Super6 League
Ian Jacobs sent us photos from
the match played between Heriot's
Rugby and Southern Knights in the
middle of December which you can
see here.
The eventual score was Heriot’s
22 Southern Knights 16.
This is part of the FOSROC
Super6 tournament which is
played by six franchise teams with
part-time professionals. It is the
new top tier of domestic rugby in
Scotland and the hope is that it
will improve playing standards.
By developing Scottish players,
coaches and match officials the
talent should then trickle into the
full-time professional game.
Jamie-Lee moves on
by John Hislop
SWPL player of the year
Jamie-Lee Napier has left Hibs to
join Chelsea.
The 19-year-old midfielder signed
for Hibs from Celtic in January
2018 and helped them win two
SWPL Cups, the Scottish Cup, and
reach the last 32 of this season's
Women's Champions League.
She has been in superb form this
season, scoring an incredible 22
goals in 33 games..
"It feels amazing to be a Chelsea
player and I'm delighted to sign
my first professional contract," she
told Chelsea's website.
"From a young girl, it's been a
dream and an aspiration of mine,
so I'm delighted that I've finally
done it with such a successful
club like Chelsea."
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes
was "delighted" to sign Napier,
who could make her debut against
Reading in the Women's Super
League on 5 January.
"She is a really bright prospect,"
she said. "Her personality, her
hard-working spirit and quality will
add something to our squad. She
is one we have identified for the
future."
Coach quits Hibernian
Ladies
by John Hislop
Head Coach Grant Scott has
left Hibernian Ladies by mutual
consent due to a change in his
personal circumstances.
He told Hibernian Media
“I’m devastated to be leaving
Hibernian.
“I’ve enjoyed my most
memorable moments in football
with these players and it was a
very difficult decision.
“My life away from football has
changed in the last year and it
would be difficult for me to give
the required commitment, time
and effort to these players for
another season.
“The very least the players
deserve is a manager who can
give them full support.
“I have life-long memories to take
with me.”
Scott leaves having helped
steer Hibernian Ladies to another
successful season – both
domestically and in European
competition.
Initially stepping into the Head
Coach role on an interim basis,
he enjoyed an early triumph
with the 9-0 Scottish Women’s
Premier League Cup Final win in
2018, which was followed by his
permanent appointment in the
position.
His work was recognised by his
peers, as he was named Scottish
Women’s Football’s Coach of the
Year.
During his time at the club he
brought both the SSE Scottish
Women’s Cup and a second SWPL
Cup back to Easter Road as well
as guiding the team through the
qualifying stages of the UEFA
Women’s Champions League
qualifiers last season.
Captain Joelle Murray will step
in on a short-term basis to lead
the team until Scott’s successor is
named – working in tandem with
the existing backroom staff.
The club have thanked Grant
for everything he has done for
Hibernian Ladies and women’s
football in Scotland over the years
and wish him every success for
the future.
New signing for Strollers
by Thomas Brown
John Dunn has signed with Civil
Service Strollers after leaving
Edinburgh City last month.
Dunn was the last player still
playing with Edinburgh City's
following their promotion to the
senior league in 2016.
Strollers boss, Gary Jardine, was
the man who lead City to SPFL and
he is now in charge at the Strollers
so knows John very well.
Dunn missed the entire
campaign last season due
to injury but believes he has
found the perfect fit at the north
Edinburgh outfit.
He said "I had a few options, to
be honest, but I've got a loyalty to
Gary from my time at City and Civil
seemed the perfect fit.
"Guys like Mark McConnell and
Ross Guthrie are there too, so the
changing room has a familiar look
to it.
"I had a lot of good times at
Edinburgh City, but it got to the
stage where I decided I needed to
be playing more."
Dunn has fitted in well at the
Strollers and already opened his
goal-scoring account.
You can watch it on Scottish
Rugby TV and the BBC Sport
Scotland website. Each team will
have at least three live broadcast
matches with highlights from
other fixtures available online
at scottishrugby.org/ The
six teams are Ayrshire Bulls,
Southern Knights,Stirling County,
Boroughmuir Bears, Watsonians
Rugby and Heriots Rugby.
Hope is a good thing
by Mike Smith
The Scottish Cup can be likened
to Christmas as it’s the time of
the year when even fans of lower
league teams can get carried away,
their usually realistic approach to
their team’s position in the league
suddenly being engulfed by a wave
of optimism, a feeling of ‘anything
can happen in the cup’.
Edinburgh City are jostling
with Cove Rangers at the top of
Ladbrokes League Two and there
will be those who say that getting
promotion to League One is the
club’s priority this coming season.
For other clubs, however, the
William Hill Scottish Cup is a
means of escape from a mundane
season of mediocrity. An abject
performance against Brechin City
or a dire showing against Stirling
Albion can be forgotten if your
team manages a great win in the
cup.
Hope enables fans to dare to
dream. Clubs much bigger than
Edinburgh City have endured more
than a century of Scottish Cup
failure. Supporters of Hibernian
never stopped dreaming of seeing
their team lift the famous old
The January fixtures are :
18 January 2020 Stirling County
v Heriot’s Rugby
19 January 2020 Watsonians
v Ayrshire Bulls and Southern
Knights v Boroughmuir Bears
25 January 2020 Heriot’s Rugby
v Boroughmuir Bears
26 January 2010 Stirling County
v Watsonians and Ayrshire Bulls v
Southern Knights
trophy even if, until 2016, they
hadn’t won it since 1902.
Their win over Rangers three
and a half years ago finally saw
their dreams come true and, while
I say this through gritted Jambo
teeth, I was genuinely happy for
some of my Hibee pals of decades
acquaintance who had nearly
given up on seeing their team win
the cup (It would be churlish of me
to point out that while Hibs have
won the Scottish Cup once in the
last 100 years, Hearts legend Rudi
Skacel won it twice in the space of
six years…)Who’s to say Edinburgh
City can’t pull off a cup shock by
knocking Hamilton Accies out of
the cup?
After all, in that season when
Hibs won the trophy Accies were
trounced 4-1 at Annan Athletic.
Who knows what will happen on
18th January? To quote Andy
Dufresne, the lead character in
that brilliant film The Shawshank
Redemption : “Hope is a good
thing, maybe the best of things
and no good thing ever dies.” So
long as the City players don’t dwell
on another quote from the film –
“There's not a day goes by I don't
feel regret".
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