Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Midfielder Laura Holden aiming to make most of life-changing move to Aberdeen Women

The 22-year-old midfielder joined the Dons from FA Women's National League Southern Premier side Cheltenham Town in July.

Aberdeen Women midfielder Laura Holden in action at Balmoral Stadium
Aberdeen Women midfielder Laura Holden in action at Balmoral Stadium. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson.

Laura Holden is ready to embrace life with Aberdeen Women after signing for the Dons on a two-year deal earlier this summer.

The 22-year-old midfielder joined from FA Women’s National League Southern Premier (the English third-tier) side Cheltenham Town in July – and has featured in both of Aberdeen’s SWPL games so far this season.

The Dons return to SWPL action against newly-promoted Montrose at Links Park on Wednesday night.

And Holden is glad to have hit the ground running for her new club after a frantic few weeks where she quit her admin job with Bristol and Wessex Water and moved north.

It was a move she was keen to make as her two-year semi-professional contract with the Reds is the first time she has been paid to play football in her career.

“It all happened really quickly,” said Holden. “When I first came up I was just here for an evening session and then Clint (Lancaster) told me he wanted to sign me.

Laura Holden in action for Aberdeen against Motherwell on the opening day of the SWPL season.
Laura Holden in action for Aberdeen against Motherwell on the opening day of the SWPL season. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson.

“That was obviously good news, but I was still working full-time and playing for my previous club, so a lot had to change in a short space of time.

“I’ve been up here for a few weeks now and it’s been a bit hectic moving from hotel to hotel, but I’m glad I’ve been able to move into a flat now and can start to really get settled.

“This is the first time I’ve had this kind of contract so it’s a big step for me in my career, especially at my age, and one that I really didn’t want to turn down.

“I’m very grateful for it.”

Moving to Scotland an ‘easy’ decision to make

So, what was it specifically about Aberdeen which made Holden uproot her life and move from Bristol to the north-east of Scotland?

“Clint spoke very highly about the club and the history here,” said Holden. “This is a big club and the men’s team have been successful.

“One of my good friends is from Scotland and he was the one who put me in touch with Clint in the first place, and he was thinking very good things about the move up here, too.

“For me, it was probably just the right time. I wasn’t really happy where I was and didn’t have many other options in that area.

Aberdeen Women manager Clint Lancaster on the touchline at Balmoral Stadium
Aberdeen Women manager Clint Lancaster. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson.

“I moved from Norwich when I was 17 to Bristol for football and now I’ve moved from Bristol to Aberdeen, so I’d like to think I’m a bit of a pro at being away from home now.

“It’s been quite easy because Clint was keen to get me in, and the manager wanting you there is always a really nice feeling for a player.

“All the girls have been lovely and welcomed me straightaway, so I’m really enjoying it so far.”

Holden has experience playing against England’s World Cup finalists

Before joining Cheltenham Town in November 2022, Holden played for Bridgwater United – and a memorable FA Cup run with the Somerset club left the midfielder with some of the best memories of her career to date.

Holden netted the winning goal against Crystal Palace which set up a fourth round home clash with FA WSL outfit Manchester United.

“I’m pretty lucky say to say I’ve played against players like Alessia Russo and Ella Toone,” said Holden. “There’s one clip I have from that game that I’ll never delete.

“Ella Toone got the ball in the middle of the park and turned, but I nicked it off her, did a little skill to get past her and then passed the ball on.

Ella Toone in action for England during the 2023 World Cup final against Spain
Ella Toone in action for England during the 2023 World Cup final. Image: Shutterstock.

“I looked over at the photographer after I did it and I’ve got a couple photos with me having a massive smile on my face, which just says it all I think.

“For my age, I’ve got quite a bit of experience, and now playing in Scotland that is going to give me more experiences at the highest level against the top teams, so I’m just really looking forward to it all.”

Having had a taste of  what the SWPL has to offer, Holden has been impressed by the standard of the Scottish top-flight.

“The main thing has been the speed at which the girls can play,” said Holden. “The league I have come from is much slower than what it is in Scotland.

Laura Holden battles with Hayley Ladd of Manchester United during the FA Cup fourth round clash. Image: Shutterstock.
Laura Holden battles with Hayley Ladd of Manchester United during the FA Cup fourth round clash. Image: Shutterstock.

“From how Clint is wanting us to play, when we go forward we go forward quickly, and when we lose the ball then we get it back quickly and then get back into our shape.

“The speed is definitely the big difference I’ve noticed, but also the strength of all the teams. You’ve got more and more international players playing here in Scotland.”

Conversation