Winning trophy was no walk in the park
Walking footballers from Jeanfield Swifts have been celebrating becoming Scottish champions.
A talented group of ladies from the Perth club lifted the title on Sunday at the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility in North Lanarkshire.
Hosted by Walking Football Scotland, Swifts defeated Midlothian Ladies 2- 1 in a closely- contested match played in a great spirit.
Joan Masterton and Karen Shepherd netted the allimportant goals to bring the trophy back to the Fair City.
Anne Smith, one of Swifts’ players on the day, said: “We were 1-0 down in the game but Joan scored the equaliser and then Karen managed to get our winner.
“Although she ended up twisting her foot in the astroturf and we had to take her to A&E at Perth Royal Infirmary! She is now out for quite a few weeks and has one of these moon boots on. But at least she scored the winning goal.
“It was a great win for us and we were presented with the trophy by Rose Reilly. That was a great honour.”
The Scottish Women’s League play- off showdown provided the perfect opening to a wider fun festival, where 10 teams from across the country were involved.
“We took 13 players through, three who were under the age of 40 so they just played in the festival event,” Anne continued.
“The festival event was really to promote the sport. There are women joining the sport all over the country and the hope is to have regional leagues next year. We’re trying to get the profile higher and make people appreciate and understand the sport.”
Ladies’ walking football in the Fair City has been gathering plenty of momentum in recent times and this trophy win emphasised the hard work and dedication of all involved.
The Swifts group meets weekly on a Wednesday evening at the North Inch Community Campus from 7.30- 8.30pm. This is open to everyone, no matter age, previous experience or fitness level and Anne would encourage anyone interested to head down to find out more.
“Jeanfield have been very supportive and have given us a weekly venue,” she said.
“We’re consistently getting 13 or 14 players down on a Wednesday night and we’re hoping to attract even more.
“They are all committed and want to play. These are not just women who are dropping in and out - it is a real dedicated group.
“We are even talking about going to Spain next April to play in a tournament. We’ll be playing in Blackpool too.
“We are really pushing forward so it’s exciting times.”