Dyce Women FC certainly know the relief of making a deadline after becoming officially established with barely 24 hours to spare.
The idea for another new women’s team in the north-east started with Scott Duncan who has been involved in the game as a coach for almost 20 years.
Although the women’s game is growing, Duncan felt there were still too many players at clubs not getting game time due to big squad numbers, or talented players not assigned to any team at all.
“I decided to start my own team,” Duncan explained.
“I thought I’ll go out and try to house those players who aren’t getting game time and those who are having to play fives with their friends every week because they can’t get a club.”
In December 2022, he approached junior side Dyce FC, who already had a girls youth pathway, about starting a senior women’s team – as soon as possible – and the response was an immediate yes.
So, they got the ball, quite literally, rolling.
After the logistics had been figured out and agreed with the club, Dyce WFC were up against the clock – and had 24 hours to register the team with Scottish Women’s Football.
“It was a yes from the Dyce chairman (Syd Birnie) right away,” Duncan said.
“We didn’t have very long to get everything together so had to organise a very quick committee meeting.
“I got a phone call saying it was a go on Tuesday morning – and the deadline for registering the team, and doing all the admin and getting money paid, was Wednesday at 5pm.
“It was all passed and accepted first time, so we were able to get started straight away. It was a massive buzz, and then it was up to me to get a team together.”
Starting first-ever league season with a win
To put together the squad, Duncan hosted trials on January 5 and 8, where 47 players showed up, leaving the coach with the difficult task of whittling numbers down to 20.
The players were told if they had been successful or not on January 9, as Duncan selected those – varying in experience and age – who would be in line to make their league debut in the new Biffa SWFL North division just SIX days later.
After training together only twice, Dyce hosted Stonehaven at Ian Mair Park last Sunday and it was a debut to remember, as the home side won 1-0.
Unbelievably proud of the girls, having only trained twice together and 2 new faces added today, it's a great way to start of the season. A lot to work on but delighted with the win today as Stoney didn't make it easy. Thanks to all my the supporters & the ball girls and mascots https://t.co/ola9VrLZNJ
— Scott Duncan (@ScottyDuncan81) January 15, 2023
“We joked in the changing room beforehand about knowing each other’s names because some of them had only just met at training,” Duncan said. “But I told them I knew they could work together as a team.
“It was a really tough game against Stonehaven. The conditions made it difficult – it was a physical challenge, but we took our opportunity and rose to it.
“Lana Morrison scored the winning goal and the way the girls celebrated, it was like they’ve all been friends for years.
“After the game they were on such a high and were speaking about going out for a meal together, it’s great to see that they’ve bonded so quickly and want to get to know each other.”
Aiming to progress on and off the pitch
With their first SWFL game now out the way, the Dyce coach wants to bring some stability within the team and make sure progress is being made with performances on the pitch.
“It’s been a whirlwind start – trying to get the team going and then playing the first match,” Duncan said. “But we’ve said to the girls at training this week – the rush is over now.
“We’ve got Forfar Farmington this weekend. We know the standard of the league, so our focus now has to be picking up as many points as we can throughout the season.”
TABLES
After a thrilling opening weekend, the #BiffaSWFL short season is underway!
Too early to make predictions, but let's look at the tables anyway, starting with #BiffaSWFL North: pic.twitter.com/YwOEtYhaxe
— Biffa SWFL (@BiffaSWFL) January 17, 2023
After such a busy start to life as a team, you could forgive Dyce for not having the time to think too far ahead yet and set future ambitions in stone, however, Duncan has big plans in mind.
“First of all, we want to build a strong youth academy here,” Duncan said. “There are teams up to under-14s but not older, so we want to give the players a chance to stay here right through their teenage years.
“The second thing for us is to be competitive in the league and if promotion is on the horizon, then we’ll grab it and push on as far as we can.”
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