FOR LOVE OF THE GAME
Erin hails influence of Scots hero Jo as she gears up for Champs League semi and World Cup glory bid
ERIN CUTHBERT will board a flight to France this weekend but her head will never be in the clouds.
The Scotland playmaker is shaping up for a three-month spell that will fulfil the dreams she’s cherished since childhood.
Cuthbert, 20, is bidding to become the first Scotswoman since Julie Fleeting 12 years ago to win a Champions League winner’s medal.
The Chelsea attacker travels to Lyon for Sunday’s semi-final first leg hoping to break the stranglehold of the French side in the competition over the last three years.
She will return across the channel in June when Shelley Kerr’s Scotland squad participate in the World Cup for the first time in history.
Cuthbert took centre stage in Glasgow yesterday as she joined forces with Scotland team-mate Jo Love to make the draw for the women’s Under-19 European Championships, to be held here in July.
Cuthbert said: “There’s so much to look forward to in the coming months.
“It is a really exciting period but you have to stay in the present because performance levels could dip if you think too far ahead. We fly out with Chelsea on Saturday for Lyon.
“Hopefully it’s third-time lucky for us in semi-finals this season after losing our previous two (to Man City in the League and FA Cup).
“There will be more than 20,000 in Lyon, a record crowd for a semi-final.
“We’re aiming to return to London still in the tie and, ultimately, we’re going to have to score an away goal. Lyon are at the top of their game and in great form so we’re under no illusions, it’s going to be a tough game but one we’re relishing.
“They have some of the best players in the world and finances four times greater than ours.
“All this doesn’t feel real sometimes. I have to pinch myself and ask, ‘Is this really happening?’
“I’ve been asked so often how it feels going to the World Cup and each time I give a different answer. I’ll keep working hard to make sure I’m part of Shelley’s final 23.
“I remember growing up, watching the World Cup on telly and saying, ‘I want to play there one day for Scotland’.
“Women such as Jo Love and others have fought so hard behind the scenes over the years to make all this the norm and I’m so appreciative of all they’ve done.
“I used to idolise her as a kid, watching her play at Blair Park in Hurlford before I went on to the pitch at half-time and did keepie-uppies.
“I’ve grown up as part of a generation that knows my football dreams can be realised, thanks to the efforts of people such as Jo.”