Jubilant Aberdeen FC Women’s manager Emma Hunter insists her back-to-back promotion-winning side has earned the chance to prove they can compete at the highest level.
The Dons women will compete in SPWL1 next season after winning promotion from SWPL2 and Hunter believes her double champions are ready for the rigours of top-flight women’s football.
She said: “If I’m being honest I think every player in this team deserves the opportunity to play in SWPL1 and we’re going to give them that.
“We want to compete and we think we have a team which can do that. We’ve won a challenging league quite comfortably in the end and I think we can go up believing we can compete against the teams.
“There is so much changing in SWPL1 in terms of player and management movement, so expect the unexpected I’d say. We were underdogs this season and next season we will be again, so hopefully we can prove a few people wrong.
“We need experience in our team and not just be full of youth. You need people with the experience of playing at a high level, but hopefully we can hold on to our senior players and add a couple to strengthen the squad.”
The Dons picked up the SWPL2 championship trophy at the end of a thrilling 4-2 win against Boroughmuir Thistle at Balmoral Stadium, coming from behind twice to secure victory thanks to a Francesca Ogilvie double and goals from Eilidh Shore and Bayley Hutchison.
🏆 CHAMPIONS 🏆
COYR! #StandFree pic.twitter.com/3VkKnu0py6
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) July 4, 2021
It was a testing finish to the campaign for the champions, who had beaten Boroughmuir 9-0 earlier in the season, but Hunter was pleased to see her side tested with a competitive finale in front of family, friends and fans.
The Dons boss said: “I wanted them to go out and put on a good performance for all the people that were here and the fact it was streamed live and it maybe got to the players slightly as they were getting frustrated as the game wore on.
“I told them afterwards that’s why we’re champions, that’s why we’ve won the league. We grind out results even when we’re being challenged and credit to Boroughmuir, they were fantastic today and ran us ragged at times. It was good it was a close game and not a runaway victory.
“I was frustrated in the first half, but now it’s finished and we’ve won I feel a lot better.
“Time has gone so slowly and it has felt like forever waiting for this moment. We’ve known we have won the league and had games to play before getting our hands on the trophy, but we will be celebrating with friends and family now which is great.”
The pressure was on Aberdeen to perform in their final game at what will be their home ground next term, and in front of current men’s first team boss Stephen Glass, former manager Craig Brown and former chairman Stewart Milne, as well as director of football Steven Gunn.
The fact there were distinguished guests in attendance and an increased interest in the game is one which Hunter hopes will stand her side in good stead next season.
She said: “I was a little frustrated we could have lost our first ‘home’ game at Balmoral Stadium. I really like Cove and the club here and it bodes well for the future.
“Hopefully this is just the start of fans being back and we can play in front of fans in SWPL1.
“On and off the pitch it is going to take us to the next level. Being organised off the pitch will be important, there will be more media attention which is great, and having a stadium to play in is important for televised games.
“We’re going to come up against games like this in SWPL1 and every game will be a learning opportunity for us win or lose.”
There is little time to celebrate the title win, however, with the Dons women due back for pre-season training in a fortnight.
Hunter said: “They’re lucky they are getting two weeks off, I’m not getting that.
“The SWPL1 teams have been finished for quite a well, but we’ve been really hectic. Our pre-season won’t be so hectic due to the games we’ve played in the last few weeks.”