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‘It’ll take the weight off my shoulders’: Aberdeen Women striker Bayley Hutchison hopes to hit goal trail in SWPL 1

Aberdeen Women's Bayley Hutchison. Image: Shutterstock
Aberdeen Women's Bayley Hutchison. Image: Shutterstock

Aberdeen Women striker Bayley Hutchison is hoping she can replicate her form from last season and hit the goal trail in SWPL 1.

Hutchison was the Dons’ top goal scorer last season as she netted 14 SWPL 1 goals and six across the two cup competitions, but she is yet to score this campaign.

Aberdeen have endured a difficult start to the season and host Celtic this weekend in search of their first win, having picked up just one point from the opening five games.

The Dons have only scored four goals so far in the top-flight.

Hutchison, who was nominated for the inaugural PFA Scotland Women’s Young Player of the Year award last season, hopes to by hit the goal trail sooner rather than later.

The striker said: “I feel like as soon as I get my first goal, it’ll take the weight off my shoulders and the goals will come more naturally.

“As a team, we haven’t scored a lot of goals this season, so it’s about taking the chances when we get them. I need to make sure I’m getting in the right areas to score the goals.

“People see and talk about me when I score goals, but I think I’ve been playing well even though I’ve not scored yet. Performance-wise, I’ve been OK.

“Obviously, with the team as a whole we would’ve liked to have started better but it’s a different season, and things are different this year.

“I think as the games go on I’ll start to get the goals that I want.”

Playing against the professional teams

Aberdeen co-managers Emma Hunter and Gavin Beith have opted to use Hutchison in a deeper role this season, as she lines up behind striker Mya Christie.

It’s not an unfamiliar role for Hutchison, who played in the same position for Scotland U19s last season – and she reckons it’s where she can contribute the most.

Hutchison explained: “With the pedigree of players that are coming into the Scottish league, it just shows how difficult it can be, so the deeper role gets me on the ball more.

“It’s quite hard to influence a game when you’re only getting a few chances, so in this deeper role I can dictate the play. It suits me better, especially playing the top teams.”

Bayley Hutchison in action for Scotland U19s last season.

The Dons host one of the top teams this weekend, as Fran Alonso’s Celtic travel to Balmoral Stadium unbeaten and with no goals conceded so far in the league.

Hutchison admits it’ll be a tough game for her and her teammates, but they believe they can be competitive against a professional outfit having done so before.

Aberdeen were unlucky to come away with a narrow 2-1 defeat when they played full-time Glasgow City in August. They also led Celtic 1-0 until the 79th minute last season before losing 3-1.

She said: “It’s not going to be an easy game, but we just have to go out there and express ourselves. We want to show what we’re about as a team.

“It’s always good to look back to see that we’ve done well against them before, so we don’t need to be scared going into the game now.

“They still have the same manager and the same core team, so they’re going to be playing in a similar way. It does give us confidence that we can be competitive.”

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