The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
‘Pride of Perth’ believes Scots have closed gap on World Cup rivals
‘Pride of Perth’ overwhelmed by good luck messages as she prepares for World Cup opener
Pride of Perth Lana Clelland believes “something good is going on” in the Fair City as she gets ready to head to the World Cup with Scotland.
Clelland, now based in Italy, will have another Perth player for company in France – Lisa Evans, a star of the FA Cupwinning Arsenal side.
Long before they played together for their country, the pair were team-mates as youngsters starting out on what would become hugely successful careers.
And, with record cap holder Gemma Fay having retired after the 2017 European Championships, there is an impressive Perth pedigree in women’s football in Scotland.
“I’ve been getting messages from back home from people wishing me well and saying they are coming out to France,” said the Fiorentina forward.
“It’s good to know that you’ve got support from your local area. I’ve been away from Perth for a long time now.
“Myself and Lisa played in Perth teams together at under-13 and under-15 level.
“I was at St Johnstone back in the day and played for Letham for a year as well.
“I moved to Edinburgh when I was quite young (Spartans) and then my football took me to Glasgow.
“I got a move to Italy after that when I was just 22 and have been there ever since. I go back to visit every so often.
“There have been a few international footballers who have come through in Perth. There’s obviously something good going on there.
“Gemma Fay won over 200 caps for her country. Now it’s me and Lisa.”
It’s a sign of the options coach Shelley Kerr has in midfield and attack that Clelland, who has previously been the highest goalscorer in Italy’s Serie A, was a substitute in the Hampden Park World Cup warm-up against Jamaica on Tuesday night.
“Goals come from all over the pitch in this team,” she said.
“It’s not just certain positions. That’s a big positive to take into a World Cup. That has been shown over the last couple of seasons.”
Clelland added: “I’m training every day with international players at my club. “The league in Italy is a high standard. “It’s a different style of football but that’s something I can bring to the national team. We’ve got a few girls who play in England as well.”
The Jamaica game will prove to be a valuable learning experience as well as a cherished memory as far as Clelland is concerned.
“It was unbelievable,” she said. “It was great to see so many people come out to support us.
“It was a good performance on the night and a good result against another nation going to the World Cup. There were a couple of mistakes for their goals but it’s better to make them in warm-up games rather than in the tournament itself. We’ll take that on board, look at our overall performance and bring out the positives for the England game.”
In Scotland’s only previous appearance at a major finals, Euro 2017, they lost heavily to England. Clelland is confident it will be a different story in Nice on Sunday for their competition opener.
“I absolutely believe that the gap has closed since we played England in the European Championships,” she pointed out.
“We’vegrownsomuchinthelastcouple of years and we expect to produce a big performance. It’s not all about England, though. We want to get out of our group. We’ve said that from the very start and we think we’re capable of doing that.
“We’ll be looking to take points in every group game we play.”