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‘I’m going to try and not get emotional’ – Nadine Hanssen on ‘amazing’ honour of being Aberdeen’s first female Pittodrie goalscorer

Nadine Hanssen in action for Aberdeen Women at Pittodrie.
Aberdeen Women's Nadine Hanssen in action at Pittodrie. Image: Shutterstock.

Nadine Hanssen says making history at Pittodrie by scoring Aberdeen Women’s first-ever goal at the stadium was an “amazing” feeling.

The Dons won their first game of the season – and first-ever – at Pittodrie as they beat Glasgow Women 2-0, thanks to first-half goals from Hanssen and Jess Broadrick.

Hanssen, who was played at centre-half, headed home in the 18th minute to become the first female player to score for Aberdeen at the beachfront venue.

She struggled to put into words how much it meant to score her first Aberdeen goal, having moved to the city in the summer with partner Kelle Roos, who plays for the men’s team.

She gave birth to their son Romeo in December 2021, and previously said making her comeback to football after pregnancy was worse than overcoming an ACL injury.

Hanssen walked out onto Pittodrie carrying her 10-month-old son, who was one of the match-day mascots, while Roos supported her from the crowd for the game.

She said: “I’m going to try and not get emotional, but walking out with him (Romeo) before the game and then scoring at Pittodrie – it’s an amazing feeling.

“When people told me that it was the team’s first goal at Pittodrie, it was even more special, and we got our first win of the season which is the most important thing.”

Hanssen was delighted to score, but admits her initial reaction was disbelief as she watched her header drop into the bottom corner of the Glasgow net.

She added: “I was just looking to make sure that it had actually gone in. So when I seen that it was in, it was just an amazing feeling.

“All the girls running to me and then to the fans because we got our first goal at Pittodrie, it’s just amazing – I’m very happy.

“I just try to help the team as much as possible so I’m glad that I could help with that first goal, which maybe took some pressure off us so we could enjoy the occasion.”

An important win to build on

Despite only joining last month, Hanssen is one of the most experienced players in the Dons team, having played professionally in England, the Netherlands and Belgium.

She tried to use that experience to calm the nerves of her Aberdeen team-mates, some of whom were also making their Pittodrie debut on Sunday.

Aberdeen Women with Nadine Hanssen after she put them ahead at Pittodrie. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson.

Hanssen said: “I said to the girls before the game that we just need to try and get the nerves out to enjoy it and play with a smile on our faces.

“I said to them if we bring the right energy then it’s going to be fine and we’ll get our first win of the season – and we did that.”

Hanssen says the Dons must build on that first win when they return to action in almost three weeks’ time when they travel to Motherwell in SWPL 1.

She said: “We really needed this win – for the players and the staff – we all really needed this. We’ve had some good performances before, but hadn’t got the points.

“We’re off the mark now, so we know we have to build on this and try to keep playing better to work towards our next win.”

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