Scotland Women v Ukraine Women

I’d take any opportunity I could to
play, including going to summer
camps when I knew I’d be one of
the only girls there.
“Going into school, I always
tried to play with the older girls
whenever I could. On Friday
nights we’d play against the boys
and, looking back, it probably
helped me progress a lot quicker.
I knew I could compete with them
and it made me want to pursue
playing properly.
“It could be intimidating. You could
see some people thinking ‘what’s
she doing here?’ but just as many
were welcoming and, anyway,
there wasn’t an alternative.
“There’s obviously more that can
still be done on the development
side but you can see the progress
that’s being made.
“I did some one-on-one coaching a
wee while back with an Edinburghbased
group - Gold and Gray
Soccer Academy - because they
wanted to cater for girls and I really
enjoyed it. I’m not sure coaching
is for me on a wider scale, but
working one-to-one with them was
a really rewarding experience.”
There’s a tinge of regret when
Smith talks about her time at
Hibs, having just failed to wrestle
the league title away from allconquering
Glasgow City.
The Hibees, however, had the
edge in cup competitions.
She added: “I really enjoyed my
time at Hibs and can’t thank them
enough for my progression. They
did so much for me.
“It was brilliant when we finally
started to achieve what we
I REALLY
ENJOYED MY
TIME AT HIBS
AND CAN’T
THANK THEM
ENOUGH
FOR MY
PROGRESSION.
THEY DID SO
MUCH FOR ME
HAMPDEN PARK / FRIDAY 26, NOVEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v UKRAINE / 13