Aimee Ridgeway is scoring goals for fun in SWF Championship North finding the net 27 times in only seven games for Montrose Women.
The striker, who grew up in New Pitsligo and currently lives in Aberdeen, returned to Montrose last year for her second spell after a difficult season at Cove Rangers Women.
Her goal tally so far includes eight hat-tricks having scored seven goals in a cup fixture against Gleniffer Thistle.
Ridgeway set herself a target to become Scotland’s top goal scorer this season and is well on her way to achieving that already surpassing her own personal bests from previous seasons.
Success on the pitch is back on Ridgeway’s radar after having to dedicate so much time to her career and studies at university.
The 27-year-old said: “I said to my partner, I want to become the top goal scorer in Scotland. Even with the likes of Celtic and Rangers, I want to top that.
“I’ve had the experience of playing for Scotland with the likes of Caroline Weir. Now I have my job and graduated university, I am looking back to football and saying what do I want to achieve and how am I going to do it.
“It’s given me the determination and the vision to go and achieve that goal.”
Ridgeway has improved her own game by putting hours off the pitch in the gym. She also credits the support that she receives from her teammates and coaches on and off the pitch for her success this season.
She said: “I said to the girls, this is a 100% a team effort. I wouldn’t get the amount of goals that I have if it wasn’t for my team passing the ball to my feet or working together as a team on the pitch.
“It’s not all about the goals. It has to be about the build up to the goals as well and as a striker it’s my job to score them.
“The team definitely helps, the manager, all the staff and the board, it gives you that motivation for the club to do well.”
Inspiring the future generation
Ridgeway hopes that she can help inspire the future generation of players to reach heights that she may not have had the opportunity to.
She started playing football at eight years old before playing for Mintlaw Academy where she followed in the footsteps of Scotland legend Kim Little and became an integral part of the school team.
Ridgeway didn’t have the opportunity to play with Little, but went on to play against some of the best players in Scotland competing in the top flight at only 14 years old with Aberdeen.
From Aberdeen, she was called up to the under-15 and under-17 Scotland squads where she played with Caroline Weir, Claire Emslie and Chloe Arthur.
The striker then had to make a difficult decision and turned down then under-19’s Scotland manager Shelley Kerr’s approach to move up an international age group.
Despite her success in the game at such a young age, Ridgeway prioritised a career in education and professional development. She currently works as a coordinator to get young people back into education and employment.
She said: “I would love to be the best player and do the best that I can and I did that playing for Scotland, but I didn’t have a goal of becoming a professional footballer.
“I didn’t have that opportunity because it just wasn’t an option. But, now for young girls in Scotland there’s Glasgow City and Rangers and if I had had that at a young age that would have 100% been my goal.”
Last night’s Player of the Match selected by Match Sponsor Montrose Youth FC was Aimee Ridgeway.
Chris Masson, Vice Chair of Montrose Youth and Girls 15's Manager, is pictured presenting Aimee with a bottle of Champagne sponsored by @CarbonFinancial . pic.twitter.com/ncRVfb4DbJ
— Montrose Football Club Women (@MontroseFCW) September 30, 2021
Ridgeway who also played for local clubs Buchan and Dee Ladies after her time at Aberdeen hopes that young girls will make the most of opportunities that didn’t exist when she was a young player.
She added: “For me, it’s all about inspiring the younger generation. Getting the under-15’s, under-11’s along and them looking up to us as role models and then them having a goal that in five or ten years down the line they can be playing for Montrose.
“It’s good to inspire them because they can look and think that’s what I want to do and from there they could end up going professional.”