Grimshaw keen to make her mark

CHRISTY GRIMSHAW watched the drama of Scotland’s inaugural Women’s World Cup campaign in France in 2019 unfold from her parents’ sofa. A quiet dream to get herself in amongst it for future tournaments seemed a long way off. At 23, Grimshaw had just returned home from a degree in Miami where she combined study with playing, but was significantly beneath the radar in Scottish football circles. Her Dad could identify the ambition within his daughter but realised it seemed like a fairly hefty challenge. Two years on and Grimshaw is in the squad that will look to nail down a place at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. In the time that has passed, there has been a stint with Metz in France before moving to AC Milan, where she signed a contract extension just four months ago. She won her first Scotland cap against Northern Ireland in June when she came on as a late substitute but has retained her place in Pedro Martinez Losa’s first squad. The challenge now is keeping it. ‘I had just come back from Miami before I was away on my next adventure,’ she recalled of Scotland’s World Cup experience under Shelley Kerr. ‘At that point, it was all a bit unknown. Honestly, where I was, it (playing for Scotland) was not realistic at all. ‘Looking back now, it is a bit crazy because I don’t think I realised. But I do remember my Dad saying: “This is where you want be” and I was thinking: “Yeah, but how possible is it? No one even knows me”. Looking back, even I didn’t think it was entirely possible. ‘You have to keep a level head on it. There are good players and very experienced players. But I can help the team as well.’ Both Grimshaw and Everton forward Claire Emslie expressed enthusiasm when invited to give their first impressions of Martinez Losa. The Spaniard will go straight into a qualification campaign after his appointment by the SFA last month, a steep introduction to his role. It kicks off on Friday evening in Budapest with the first qualifier. Scotland then host the Faroe Islands at Hampden on Tuesday. Emslie said: ‘The manager is experienced at high levels in the women’s game so far. ‘To be honest, it reminds me of when I was at Man City. Technical patterns,

movement, it’s really good.’