WATCHING Manchester City beat Doncaster Rovers Belles on Monday, it was impossible not to reflect on the widening gulf between England and Scotland.
The game itself was unexceptional and one-sided, with City, the WSL leaders, trouncing the bottom club 6-0. The positives for Scotland coach Anna Signeul were the first-half goals for Jane Ross and Jenny Beattie.
As Leanne Crichton, another Scottish internationalist playing in England, confirmed recently, Glasgow City could operate comfortably in the WSL. But it’s off the park that everything is so different.
Last Sunday, the nine-times Scottish champions played closest rivals Hibs at New Douglas Park. The only thing smaller than the crowd was the mainstream media interest. By contrast, there were 2227 fans inside Man City’s Academy Stadium. That night, extended highlights were shown on BBC2. The entire package looked good.
England is fortunate in that the FA, and clubs such as Chelsea and Man City, have the resources to invest significant sums of money in women’s football. We can’t match that in Scotland, but we could do so much more to give the players and coaches the recognition their efforts deserve.
TODAY both SWPL Cup semi-finals will be played at Ainslie Park. Hibs and Rangers are first up, followed by Aberdeen and Glasgow City.
Hibs and Glasgow City are expected to contest the final, just as they did last year. Kevin Murphy, the Rangers head coach, concedes they have the strongest squads, along with Celtic, who were knocked out by Hibs in the first round.
Nevertheless, Rangers have made an encouraging start to the season, and are second only to City in SWPL1. Murphy brought in a raft of experienced players over the winter, including 117-times capped central defender Rhonda Jones but a second development could be even more significant in the long term.
Rangers’ home ground and training base is now New Tinto Park in Govan and is close to Ibrox Stadium. Murphy’s players can train at Benburb’s ground in the evenings and then nip over to Ibrox for video analysis and use of other for video analysis and use of other facilities.
“It’s nice for the girls to be in the stadium and feel they are Rangers players, and not just wearing the badge,” said Murphy, who was recently appointed to oversee the entire women’s programme as well as the club’s community activities.
The opportunity to build a fan base in Govan, unlike Celtic and Hibs, who play their games miles away from their natural catchment areas, could prove a huge advantage for Rangers.
“There’s definitely scope there,” said Murphy, who is planning a campaign involving local schools and the community and Rangers’ season-ticket holders.
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