Another week of footballing endeavour has been and gone. Let’s dip in to some of the talking points…
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
Which games did I watch this week? Last Wednesday I spent the evening at a blustery Ballast Bank, taking in the 14s East Caroline Weir league clash between The Swifts Blues and Glenrothes Strollers. An excellent first half free kick from Alexis saw the home side lead at the break. The teams shared the next four goals before Olivia scored her second in the last minute to wrap up the three points.
My intended viewing on Saturday was postponed so I opted instead to watch East Fife versus Dundee United in the 14s East League Cup quarter-finals. Maybe it was fate, but this one turned out to be an end-to-end cracker. The home team took the lead on a pitch that looked like the grass hadn’t been cut since Monty Don was a lad. The visitors hit back to lead 2-1 at the break. East Fife equalised before United struck back to lead again. However, the home team were undaunted and equalised with 20 minutes to go. With no extra time in the League Cup until the semi-final stage, it was straight to penalty kicks. United’s first kick was saved, while East Fife missed their fourth. After the regulation five penalty kicks, it was 4-4 and it was down to sudden death. Both teams scored before United missed and East Fife scored to claim the victory. As if the shoot-out wasn’t traumatic enough, there was one extra moment of drama during the shoot out when an East Fife coach noticed that the player stepping up to take one wasn’t on the field of the play when the game ended, therefore wasn’t eligible to take one. The mistake was caught in time and she was replaced. Well done to the eagle-eyed coach.
SO CENTRAL RAIN (I’M SORRY)
In a long-running saga of Mahabharata proportions, the drama of the 14s Central League Cup continues. As previously mentioned in blogs HERE and HERE, the chaos of this competition shows no sign of abating. While most 14s regions are awaiting the semi-final draws for their League Cup and Plate competition, Central region’s protracted League Cup group stage limped to a conclusion this weekend (8/9 Jun).
Clubs were emailed midweek (last week) by the SWF asking that all games be “tied up asap” because they wanted to do the last 16 draws for the Cup and Plate today (Mon 10 Jun) with ties being played on Sat/Sun 15/16 Jun. A very quick turnaround indeed. While the last group fixtures were scheduled for this weekend, there were still four outstanding ties, with three of them being in the same group! The other tie was an abandoned game, which still doesn’t seem to have a resolution. Someone else said that their club was told that no games played after Sunday would count towards the group tables. I also heard there was a tie scheduled for two days after the draw. It’s a bit late in the day to be ‘moving the goalposts’.
Clubs were also sent a copy of the group tables. These tables are not on the SWF website. They’re also not numbered, defying every known convention of group football. How can you identify a group easily if you don’t number it? I digress. I had a look at these tables and compared them to mine. Of the eight groups, only three were 100% correct. These were the errors in the groups they sent (as at last week and BEFORE the weekend’s matches). Note that the group numbers are mine:
Group 1: Rossvale Reds should be 2nd, not 3rd
Group 2: Correct
Group 3: Isla Thistle Whites were missing a bonus point (for winning a penalty shoot out after a draw) and Easterhouse should have been on -10 goal difference, not -6
Group 4: Correct
Group 5: The Rossvale Thistle 5-2 Kirkfield United result from 25 May was missing. Milton Rovers were missing a bonus point
Group 6: Dunipace missing a bonus point and Falkirk’s goal difference should’ve been +6, not +5.
Group 7: Holytown Colts Reds’ goal difference should be +3 not -1
Group 8: Correct
I’ll be interested to see what today’s 14s Central League Cup and Plate draws bring up, assuming they go ahead. If they do happen, I may add an update to this section. This competition couldn’t be any more farcical if it had Brian Rix pulling out the draw balls, with his trousers at his ankles, while being chased by a vicar. (Note to self: You really must use more topical cultural references!)
RULE THE WORLD #3
This week’s rules reminder is a rule regarding the number of postponements a team can be granted,
From section 10 (b) of the Youth Regional League and League Cup/Plate Rules 2024, relating specifically to league matches:
“Teams may only be granted a maximum of 3 postponements in any one season with the exception of postponements granted due to players on International Duty or a Scottish Cup/Challenge Cup or League Cup/Plate fixture taking precedence and may not apply for any postponements after the 1st of October in any season. Teams may apply for additional postponement applications in extenuating circumstances to the Regional Management Committee”
I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE#2
It seems the rumours about three clubs being automatically relegated from SWPL1 at the end of next season (mentioned in Dispatch of the Day #3) are true, with the SWPL making a statement about it last Thursday (6 June 2024). The mooted two leagues of 10 will begin in the 2025/2026 season. The split within SWPL1 will then see a top 6 and a bottom 4.
One thing in the SWPL’s statement intrigued me. Under the list of key objectives, there was the following phrase, “Data illustrated that pre-split the SWPL was below the UEFA average for competitiveness”. I’d love to know what that data was and how ‘competitiveness’ is measured. Does anyone know? Answers on a postcard to @GirlsResults!
I WANT THE ONE I CAN’T HAVE
Word reached my DMs that a club had been fined for making illegal approaches (aka ‘tapping up’) for players. I’m told this offence was committed by someone representing a NextGen team. Whether true or not, the SWF’s Player Approach Policy 2024 makes it very clear what is and isn’t acceptable. Clubs, scouts, parents and players would do well to remind themselves of these rules. Ignorance is no excuse.
YOU’RE FORGETTING
It never ceases to amaze me the short memories that some teams have. If you’ve been mucked about by a team previously in relation to the playing of a match, then learn from that and promise yourself you won’t treat another team in a similar fashion. Do everything possible to get a game played and be as flexible as possible, especially if there’s a short timescale involved. It benefits everybody, especially the players. Don’t be one of those win-at-all-costs teams who don’t care how they get through as long they’re in the hat for the next round. Remember, what goes around, comes around because some teams’ memories aren’t that short and you will, at some point, need a favour returned.
TELL ME WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS
I was forwarded an interesting post from a boys’ Fixture Finder page on Facebook. While it concerns boys’ fixtures, we mustn’t be so complacent as to think it wouldn’t happen in girls’ and women’s football. Here is the full post:
“Sadly, due to a number of incidents at recent ESSDA 9v9 and 11v11 matches, Edinburgh Referees have taken the decision not to support our matches for the rest of the season.
We will be holding disciplinary investigations into all the alleged incidents, and players, officials, and teams can expect to receive sanctions if found guilty.
Over the summer, ESSDA will hold dialogue with Edinburgh Referees, and hopefully, we can resolve the reporting issues before the start of the next season when 2013s move to play 9v9. In the meantime, any 9v9 fixture or 11v11 friendly will not be refereed by an Edinburgh based SFA Referee.
Please note – until further notice, Edinburgh Referees will not officiate at any ESSDA scheduled or friendly fixture.”
As I’ve reported on several occasions this season, this kind of behaviour is not unique to the boys’ game. Don’t be so naive to think that it couldn’t happen in girls’ and women’s football.
WE ARE EACH OTHER
One of the main policies I have on my social media pages is, if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. (Not literally, of course. That costs extra!) You help me when I’m looking for scores (or other information) and I’ll help when you need recruitment or fixture requests shared. I don’t think that’s unreasonable. However, there does seem to be some teams/clubs/people who are happy to lurk on my pages and reap the benefits of the free service I provide (results, tables, information etc) but aren’t so keen when it comes to reciprocating by answering requests for scores or other information.
One of my other rules is that I ask teams to use the @GirlsResults tag in their recruitment or fixture requests. That way I instantly get notified and I can retweet your request timeously from wherever I am. I ask to be tagged because if you think about my site enough to tag me, I’ll think about your team and share the request. Again, another quid pro quo arrangement in which everybody wins.
There are, however, exceptions. Even if you tag me, I may not retweet your request. If I’ve sent countless DMs to your page, over a long period of time, and they’ve all gone unanswered then why should I help you? This has been an issue with clubs of all sizes, not just the smaller, newer clubs. Occasionally, I’ll retweet requests that don’t tag me and I have no hard and fast rules on why I might make those exceptions. Perhaps it’s from a close friend or maybe a brand-new team who needs a little help.
PLAYING WITH NUMBERS
Last week I privately messaged two clubs to inform them that they needed to change their social media posts. One showed a scoreline which was more than a 9-goal winning margin. While they removed the scoreline, they chose to leave the names of the scorers and the numbers of goals each scored. This defeated the purpose of removing the original big score in the first place.
The other team posted a score for an under 12s game. I reminded them that scores for 12s, 10s, 8s etc shouldn’t been shown on social media as these games are classed as ‘non-competitive’.
While I can understand the latter team not knowing the rules as they’re a relatively new team, the ‘big score’ team have been around long enough to know better.
A CENTURY OF FAKERS
There is an individual within the girls’ game who hides behind a number of anonymised Twitter accounts. He uses these accounts to have a go at other teams or point out their indiscretions, while painting himself as some kind of do-gooder protecting the holy sanctity of the girls’ game. On regular occasions this individual tries to infiltrate my site. He is banned/blocked from my page for numerous issues around his behaviour towards both me, my daughter and teams she played for. His latest attempt to access my page didn’t get very far and, after being blocked, the account vanished, which confirmed my initial suspicions. Everything he does I have taken screenshots of. Perhaps, when I finally give up my site, I’ll share these screenshots with you and tell you some stories about him.
FALLING AND LAUGHING
For all the negativity that emanates from social media, there are still people worth following. People who produce wonderfully original content that guarantees a belly laugh. Many football clubs have also upped their game when it comes to making announcement videos e.g. for player signings. Two such sites combined recently to make a wonderful player-signing video.
I must thank Mark Grant (East Fife) for pointing me in the direction of the fabulous funny @bryansgunn on Twitter/X, which produces some of the most consistently funny football content around. Check out the recent “Who’s on the plane?” video from 7 Jun 2024. One of the best clubs when it comes to social media content has been Raith Rovers. Recently, Bryan’s Gunn and Raith Rovers joined forces to produce a great signing reveal for Lewis Stevenson’s move from Hibs.
On that note, I shall wish you all a good footballing week.
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more…
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
Which games did I watch this week? Well, on Saturday I did one of my Challenge Cup road trips, where I watched Winchburgh Albion v Milton Girls and Bonnyrigg Rose Reds v Glasgow City, both in the 14s Scottish Challenge Cup and both bathed in glorious sunshine. I blogged about it HERE. There’s a fairly busy programme of games this midweek so I’ll probably take in one of those too.
NOWHERE TO RUN
Last week I posed the following on Twitter/X, “It’ll be interesting to know how many girls will be released by NextGen teams as a result of the age change from 18s to 17s. Anyone from these clubs willing to tell me, even privately?” My DMs lit up like the Blackpool Illuminations.
A conservative estimate has been made at around 280 to 300, which, if even close to those figures, is a hell of a lot. Where will these girls go? Will they try to get into other clubs? Will they go to ladies football? Will they leave the game, possibly never to return? It would be interesting to know the exact number, assuming the powers-that-be are taking a note of such figures, because I think they should. However, I don’t imagine this is a figure that the clubs nor the people running the NextGen Performance League would be happy to share. I emailed Michael McArdle, the SFA’s Girls’ and Women’s Performance Manager to ask but he suggested I “speak with each club” as they have “varying pathways and talent management”. He went on to say, “To provide some insight, some will and may have squads between youth and senior, transition to senior teams as well as various loan options. We also have club led rulings in place for over-age players within NextGen.” He asked that any further enquiries go through their communication team.
The responses I received both privately and publicly, mostly from parents, confirmed that no-one is really 100% sure what is going on. Plenty of conjecture, a lot of conflicting information, and loads of opinions, which were all valid in their own way. With NextGen only having been brought in in February this year, this new version seems somewhat rushed. There doesn’t appear to be any consistency between the clubs as to what information is being issued to parents and players, many of whom are in the dark and justifiably unhappy. There’s certainly no public information for the benefit of those in the NextGen system or the wider footballing community.
RULE THE WORLD #2
This week’s rules reminder is a long-standing rule that still, unfortunately, seems to catch out some new coaches.
From section 21 (g) of the Youth Regional League and League Cup/Plate Rules 2024, relating specifically to Trialists:
“g. A player shall not be eligible to play for a club in a League Cup/Plate tie unless registered for the club.”
I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
Rumours abound that SWPL1 will see three clubs relegated at the end of next season, with one being promoted from SWPL2. Should it be true, this would bring two leagues of 10 teams for the 2025-2026 season. While I’m normally in favour of bigger leagues, I would suggest there are already big gaps between sections of teams within SWPL1 without widening them even further. Alternatively, bigger leagues might give teams more breathing space and feel more willing to blood some younger players. If it does happen, I imagine that SWPL2 will continue to be very competitive. Of all the bottom clubs in the nine women’s leagues, Stirling University were the highest points scorer with a respectable tally of 19.
I’LL TRY SOMETHING NEW
On Tuesday afternoon (28th May), all the results and fixtures disappeared from the SWF website. I suspect this is as a result of the transition from SFA Live and the new Comet system, although there was no warning or statement on the SWF’s own website that this might happen. While coaches and administrators will be able to access a temporary read-only SFA Live, I’ll have to make do with the fixtures and results I already have on my own system. This month-long hiatus might cause me some issues in terms of posting fixtures and scores, but I’ll try to find a way round it. All I ask is some patience. Feel free to update me on any changes affecting your team. [Update: the results and fixtures returned but there are issues on a lot of pages, again probably because of the transition]
THE COMETS ARE COMING
Along with many others, I’m intrigued to see how the new Comet system works. Will it improve the administration of the game? We all hope so. I’m told that Comet is a much fancier version of Usqor, which a number of clubs and individuals already utilise to provide followers with match information, especially goals. At the moment, I follow 146 teams on Usqor, although not all accounts are active. It’s a great asset in helping to access scores, although some teams use it in very different ways. I’ll be interested to see if every team is able to provide a reliable individual to update each match, live, as it happens, on Comet. Will the SWF require the inputting of substitutions, yellow and red cards, as well as goals? Will there be a way to correct in-game errors? There are some Usqor users who still make mistakes, even though you have to confirm a lot of what you input, which is designed to prevent errors. I recall an SWFL match last season where I was following two teams who were playing each other. Somehow, they came up with a different final score! Verification of results with referees, which I believe is part of the process, should prevent a repeat of this on the new system.
SOMETHING MISSING
Bishopton 14s performed a minor miracle last Saturday (25 May) when, having surrendered a 2-0 lead in their West League Plate first round tie against Hampden Girls, they won 3-2 with the last kick of the game. What was more remarkable was that they did it with just 9 players. Their coach said, “it’s the proudest moment I’ve had as a coach” when the girls said they wanted to give a go.
It’s not the first time this season that a team has turned up with less than a full complement of players just to ensure a fixture is fulfilled. Back in April, Buchan 16s made do with just ten players for their opening league fixture against Aberdeen Blacks. They lost heavily but fair play to them for making sure the fixture went ahead. A similar fate (and scoreline) befell Lauderdale 14s in their away league match to Murieston United Reds, but their performance was all the more miraculous as they only had eight players at their disposal.
These teams put to shame those win-at-all-cost teams who’ll postpone games at the drop of a hat, not because they haven’t got enough players but because they haven’t got enough of their ‘best’ players. How will the other players, who are not considered the ‘best’, ever improve if they aren’t given valuable game time?
ANYONE CAN MAKE A MISTAKE
As I mentioned in last week’s Dispatch of the Day #2, I had hoped to post a list of the outstanding issues on the SWF’s Fixtures & Results page. However, as mentioned above, I couldn’t access them due to the transition to Comet, although that has now been restored.
Instead, I’ll give you a list of the regular issues I encountered, which will, hopefully, be eradicated by Comet: – Some 14s Central teams play on Saturday and some on Sunday. The SWF would regularly post these league fixtures on the wrong date – Challenge Cup ties shown for the wrong date – Fixtures shown with the wrong venue – Getting cup rounds wrong. When I looked on Monday, I saw a set of Semi-Final fixtures listed as “Quarter-Final” and a “3rd Round” listed as a “Quarter Final” – Tables not reflecting the results listed – Incorrect results (still some outstanding, including two from March) – Missing results (still some outstanding) – Games marked as Postponed when they were played – Games marked as Awarded when they were played – Groups in League Cup competitions not having Group numbers – Manipulated cup draws (previously blogged about HERE and HERE)
These types of errors were one of the reasons I started my GirlsResults page back in January 2020. Followers of the game, whether players, coaches or parents, deserved better. I can honestly say, hand on heart, that the administration has got worse, not better. I had hoped that there would be such an improvement over the past five years, with lessons learned, that I could stop doing my site and get my life back, especially weekends. I really hope that Comet works and is a success so that I won’t be needed anymore. That is my hope. I need to get my life back so I can get a paid job and go and do other things, including other projects. Not only is what I do time-consuming, it’s also unpaid, bar the generosity of donations. There were a couple of occasions when I wanted to give up, but the faith and support of followers helped me through, for which I thank them all dearly.
SONG FOR A FUTURE (NEXT) GENERATION#2
In the last Dispatch of the Day, I mentioned a club who are emailing every other club in their region to get them to send their best few players to them for a “Detection Day”. I won’t go over that again, but one thing has intrigued me. With three 14s club from that region through to the last eight of the Scottish Challenge Cup and the quarter finals taking place in August, around the time the new NextGen leagues are mooted to start, will players be willing to give up a shot at winning a national cup competition to join the NextGen team? There are some very good teams left in the competition and any team losing their best players before the quarter finals are almost certainly surrendering any hope of winning the trophy. Sure, trophies aren’t everything but it’s nice to have something to show for your efforts in a competition where you only get one, maybe two chances of winning.
I CAN’T CONTROL MYSELF#2
Following on my recent blog (Red Blight Spells Danger), we had another 16s game abandoned on the weekend of 25/26 May and a further midweek 16s game saw one team reduced to 9 players after just 20 minutes following the dismissal of not one, but two players for foul and abusive language towards the referee. I ask again, what steps have the governing body taken to address these continuing problems?
I CAN SEE FOR MILES
On a lighter note, I was at a game recently when the away team, who were chasing the game, had a corner. A parent of the away team, on seeing a player, possibly her own daughter, being grabbed or manhandled in some way in the penalty area by a player who was wearing glasses, shouted something like, “Get your hands off her Stevie Wonder!” Now the home parents were, quite rightly, unhappy about it and made their feelings known. An apology was soon issued by the away contingent. However, it got me to thinking, is Stevie Wonder really the most famous spectacle-wearer in the world? If you’re slagging someone off because they’re wearing glasses, is he really the first person who comes to mind? When I was at school (and that wasn’t yesterday), beloved Gerry Anderson character Joe 90 (Google him, kids!) was the insult of choice towards people who wore glasses.
The corner was scored, straight in as I recall. The opposition kicked off and quickly gained a free kick 25 yards out. It was brilliantly put away by, who else, the spectacle-wearing forward and the victory was sealed. After the game, on the home team’s social media they posted footage of the free kick. What song did they choose to soundtrack it? Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours”. Touché.
On that note, I shall wish you all a good footballing week.
I thought I’d start a weekly* column on the main talking points of the weekend, plus detail of games I watched during the last week or so. They won’t be full blogs as such, just a few vignettes, maybe funny incidents and other stuff. Give me a shout if there’s anything you think needs talking about, whether serious or less so.
(*maybe more or less often depending on how busy I am)
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
On Saturday I took in the 14s East League Cup 2nd Round tie between Bayside and East Fife at Aberdour. The early morning fog was burned off by the sun and a beautiful morning ensued. Some of the Bayside girls had helped to prepare the pitch the day before, including painting the lines, and it looked great. There have been occasions, during previous visits to this venue, that the touchline on the supporters side has been invisible. No such issues today. Their previous encounter here was a grading friendly back in February, which had ended 2-2. Bayside took the lead in that game, as they did in this game. East Fife soon equalised and while it wasn’t exactly one-way traffic, East Fife did start to dominate, particularly in midfield. East Fife led 5-1 at Bayside, including a hat-trick for Megan. Another Bayside goal in the second half was sandwiched between two more goals from Megan and the match ended 7-2 to the visitors.
I took a day off on Sunday due to some issues with my knees. Old age doesn’t come itself and I’m not as match-fit as I should be.
THE AGE OF REVOLUTION
So far I’ve seen adverts from three clubs – all from the South East – recruiting for the new NextGen Performance Leagues, beginning in August. Hibernian, Spartans and Boroughmuir Thistle have all put out adverts on social media looking for players born in 2012, 2013 and/or 2014. There hasn’t been any official announcement from the SFA about the set-up for the new season, but I’m told there are new age groups, consisting of 13s, 15s and 17s. As an aside, two of those clubs tagged me, so I retweeted their adverts. One didn’t tag me, so I didn’t retweet it. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.
BEG, STEAL OR BORROW
I have no objection to teams utilising the tables I produce for GirlsResults on their team’s social media pages. Infact, I encourage it. You don’t have to ask (or pay, unless you really want to!). But I would ask that you keep the @GirlsResults branding that normally sits under the table and, maybe, if you remember, a credit like “Table courtesy of @GirlsResults” would also be welcome.
If, however, you wish to use content from this blog, you MUST ask my permission first (check the Ask Me, Ask Me, Ask Me section to the right). One team, who shall remain nameless, helped themselves to the cup draw information featuring one of their teams. Not only did they not ask permission, they didn’t even credit where they got it from. I told them, “If you’re going to use content from my site, I’d appreciate it if you give a credit to where it came from.” I don’t think that is unreasonable. Their response, instead, was to take it down the original and re-do it in a different (and less accessible) font. It would’ve taken 30 seconds to just edit their original social media post and add a credit.
MY CAMERA NEVER LIES
Having seen myself on a club’s VEO last week I can confirm that, yes, cameras really do add on ten pounds…at least!
HAPPINESS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER
I was honoured to be asked by The Swifts Blues 14s to pick what I thought was the pick of their five goals against East Fife last Wednesday. While there were some great team goals, with wonderful passing and movement, I went with the final goal, which sealed the win just before the final whistle. A corner was played in from the keeper’s left and, somehow, as if by magic, it went straight in. Most of the people present, and maybe some of the players too, are still wondering how it happened. I’ve watched it many times on VEO and I’m still not sure. On that basis, I chose that one. Congratulations Erin!
WORDS DON’T COME EASY
In the course of the last four and a half years running the site, I’ve come to learn there are certain words I always seem to type wrong. For some reason, “Glasgow”, “Thistle” and “United” become “Glagsow”, “Thitsle” and “Untied”. It’s a good job I haven’t posted “Ross Ocunty” yet!
SEE YOU SOON
There has been a spate of teams withdrawing from leagues this season, for a variety of reasons. Best wishes to these teams as they regroup and attempt to go again at a different level, later in the year or maybe next season.
CARELESS HANDS
I felt sorry for the team, this weekend, who gave away not one, not two but FOUR penalties, all down to handball offences. All four penalty kicks were converted. Rumours that the team will quit football and turn to volleyball next season are, as yet, unconfirmed.
On that lighter note, I hope you enjoyed this little jaunt through my week and I’ll do it again soon.
14s Scottish Challenge Cup – 2nd Round (Ties to be played Sat/Sun 11/12 May 2024)
Here is the draw for the 2nd Round of the 14s Scottish Challenge Cup:
Forfar Farmington v Turriff United Youth Stirling Albion Reds v Deveronvale Glasgow City v Rossvale Reds The Swifts Blues v Shotts Bon Accord Blacks Bo’ness United v Bonnyrigg Rose Reds Phoenix Pinks v Glasgow Girls Renfrew FC v Hamilton Kintore United v Arbroath Youth Yellows Buchan Braves v St Cadoc’s Caley Athena Glasgow v Cumbernauld Colts Morton Blues v Aberdeen West End Dundee West Reds v Motherwell Milton Girls v Inverness Caledonian Thistle St Mirren v Winchburgh Albion Burnbank FC Blues v Hibernian Whites Burnbank FC v Inverness Caledonian Thistle Reds
16s Scottish Challenge Cup – 3rd Round (Ties to be played Sat/Sun 11/12 May 2024)
Here is the draw for the 3rd Round of the 16s Scottish Challenge Cup:
Westerton United v Musselburgh Windsor Blues Spartans Reilly YPL v Glasgow Girls Purples Queen of the South v Huntly FC Dumbarton United v Hibernian YPL Thistle Youth v Musselburgh Windsor YPL Athena Glasgow v Aberdeen West End Port Glasgow v Aberdeen Reds Rossvale v Dundee West Royals Glasgow City YPL v Turriff United Bonnyrigg Rose Girls v Grampian Girls United Bo’ness United v Murieston United Reds East Fife v Lauderdale Montrose v Aberdeen Blacks Ardrossan Winton Rovers Blacks v Inverness Caledonian Thistle Bayside 16s YPL v Morton Central Girls v Glasgow Girls Pinks
18s Scottish Challenge Cup – 2nd Round (Ties to be played Sat/Sun 11/12 May 2024)
Here is the draw for the 2nd Round of the 18s Scottish Challenge Cup:
Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Cumbernauld Colts Raith Rovers Colts v Dunfermline Athletic Glasgow Girls v Queen of the South Boroughmuir Thistle Jags v St Mirren Giffnock v Shetland Girls EKFC Girls v Musselburgh Windsor Blues Musselburgh Windsor Whites v Ross County Renfrew v Gartcairn
Note: There was a mistake by the SWF in the 18s draw. It’s now been fixed although SWF simply replaced Ayr United with Dunfermline Athletic instead of a full re-draw. #embarrassing#omnishambles#youcouldntmakeitup
In last year’s mid-season review I pointed out the issues that the SWF had had with a number of cup draws in the first half of 2023, most notably the Challenge Cup at all age groups. The first two rounds of this season’s Challenge Cup draws passed without incident and it looked like they’d turned the corner from the issues of previous seasons. In congratulating them on getting it right it seems I spoke too soon.
Despite the SWF’s Media and Communication Manager constantly referring to me as “media” (before I blocked him but that’s another story for another day) I’m not afforded the kind of heads up that journalists might expect. I’m not on any distribution list that might be useful for a site like mine, despite the work I do in promoting the girls and women’s game. Thankfully I was furnished with the 14s League Cup draws courtesy of many friends (coaches, parents etc) throughout the regions for which I am truly grateful. There are 383 teams across 41 leagues in the girls game this season and any head start I can get in updating my spreadsheets is greatly appreciated.
At the very start of April the regional League Cup draws started to filter through to my DMs. While there were no obvious issues with the two 18s draws and six 16s draws* – there was no seeding and they were all-in draws – when I started to have a closer look at the 14s draws I thought it was some kind of April Fool’s prank.
Let’s start with what I consider to be the worst draw. In the East region all 33 teams taking part in the 11-a-side leagues have entered. 33 is an annoying number for a cup draw because in all knockout competition conventions you’re trying to get down to 64, 32, 16 etc. With 33 entrants you have to knock out a single team to get down to 32. Normally you would have 1 tie and 31 byes to reduce the number to the requisite 32. The SWF, in their infinite wisdom, decided to go with 16 ties and 1 bye, which would bring 17 teams through. Unbelievable! Not for the first time in recent seasons, they got their maths wrong and the knock-on effect is that in the next round – instead of 16 ties – they’ll have to have a single tie, alongside 15 byes. Farcical! This goes against all traditional knockout tournament conventions. The error of the first round instead of being fixed has been exacerbated and compounded in the second round. (They made a similar mistake in the 14s South West League Cup in April 2022 when they had to squeeze in a single 3rd Round tie between Hamilton and Millennium to get down to the standard 8 quarter-finalists because they contrived to put 9 teams through!) However, the mathematical mess of the 1st Round draw has been heightened by another issue with the 14s East draw.
It seems the SWF have decided to ‘manipulate’ the draw to ensure the top tier teams get through by giving them not just one advantage but three. While the first advantage afforded the Caroline Weir league teams is to be seeded and therefore avoid their league rivals – a not unnatural benefit of the seeding process – the SWF have decided to also give the Tier 1 teams the added bonus of a home draw (or in Dunfermline Athletic White’s case a bye). This leaves the Tier 3 teams, as well as being given an away tie, having to incur the additional expense of travelling to play and, almost certainly, be beaten and beaten heavily*, by Tier 1 teams. (*A fair assumption based on the Tier 1 versus Tier 3 encounters during the recent grading friendlies). That’s no fun for anyone. Also, the way the draw was done smacks of sheer laziness. It seems they’ve taken an alphabetical list of the Tier 1 teams and taken the first one and given them a tie against the team at the bottom alphabetically of the Tier 2 teams and then continued the draw by taking the next Tier 1 team and placing them against the bottom Tier 3 team and continuing on like that. If you can’t get your head around that explanation then have a look at this picture where I’ve colour coded each tier to see what I mean. It is, quite simply, the most ridiculous draw I’ve ever seen.
I suggested to the SWF that this draw may end up in a load of 9-0 results and/or withdrawals by Tier 3 teams which makes a mockery of the competition. My concerns were expressed a few days after the draws were made but I’m still, at time of press, awaiting a response. For a few days they actually withdrew the draw from the SWF website. (Update: I was told yesterday, Wednesday 8 April, that the SWF have doubled down on their error and are sticking with the original draw. I’m not aware of any explanation why).
The 14s West draw has been made on similar lines, as the picture below illustrates. Another contrived draw giving a huge advantage to the Tier 1 teams.
What I don’t understand is the lack of consistency across the six regions. Are they going for all-in random draws – giving everyone a sporting chance – or manipulated draws to get the top teams though? Do they want knockout competitions or League Cups in groups? Are they seeding teams or not seeding them? They can’t seem to make up their mind from region to region. Either way, whatever they choose, they’re getting it wrong.
This brings us on to the 14s Central League Cup draw. There are 37 teams in this competition and the SWF have gone with groups rather than a knockout format. While in the East and West the SWF have looked to give an advantage to the Tier 1 teams, in Central it’s a very different story and this harks back to my issue of a lack of balance.
They’ve gone for eight groups; 5 featuring 5 teams and 3 groups of 4 teams (pictured below). So far, so good. All the 12 Tier 1 teams (from the Sam Kerr league) have been placed into just three groups. I have dubbed the group containing Isla Thistle Pinks, Milton Girls, Holytown Colts Blacks, Gartcairn and Motherwell as ‘The Group of Death’ because it’s ridiculously strong. Whoever gets through that group could easily be favourite to win the Cup. Three of the other groups only have Tier 3 teams in them. The draws for Central are below. I’ve still been unable to find the actual group numbers (or letters) so the ones I’ve used are purely for illustrative purposes.
In the North region they’ve plumped for 8 groups of 3 – Shetland Girls having been added to the 23 league teams – and it’s a mixed bag of strong and weak groups. In the South East they’ve opted for unseeded all-in knockout draws for the League Cup (Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams only) and the League Plate (Tier 3 and Tier 4 only), which is sensible. Being the only region with four 14s leagues the South East lends itself better to that split into Cup and Plate from the start. A straightforward all-in random knockout draw is the competition of choice in the South West.
Growing up with a dartboard in my bedroom meant mental arithmetic has always been a strong point of mine (unless it’s over 501!) but the SWF really seems to struggle with the basic mathematics of cup draws. (I also used to play with a weirdly-named game called LOGacta, in which you used charts, dice and cards to create and run league and cup competitions. The dice were a kind of seeding of their own. Does anyone else of a certain age remember it?) The problem is that it’s happening every single season. Lessons are not being learned. Once in a while it would nice if they put their hands up and said, “we got it wrong” and made amends for any errors. Instead, as is the modern, corporate way, they double down, PR their way out of it and hope the issue just goes away. They have to improve this side of their work because those involved in girls’ football, those who drive thousands of miles every year to coach, train and/or cheer on players and spends thousands of pounds doing so deserve so much better because some of these draws lack basic sporting integrity.
14s Scottish Challenge Cup – 1st Round* (Ties to be played Sat/Sun 23/24 March 2024)
Bathgate Thistle Whites v Ross County Finnart Blues v Winchburgh Albion Stenhousemuir v West Park United Navy Stonehaven Strollers v Spartans Clelland Athena Glasgow v Grampian Girls United Bathgate Thistle Blacks v Rossvale Thistle Drumchapel United Blacks v Finnart Blacks Morton Blues v Morton Whites Bayside Bears v Burnbank Blues Bonnyrigg Rose Reds v TASS Thistle Glasgow Girls v Giffnock SC Reds Inverness Caledonian Thistle Reds v The Swifts Sabres Edinburgh South Phoenix v Phoenix Blacks Arbroath Youth v Buchan Fire St Cadoc’s Caley v Grampian Girls Athletic Isla Thistle Pinks v Central Girls West Park United Sky v Stonehaven Dynamos Arbroath Youth Yellows v Dundee United Montrose Youth v Dumbarton United Yellows Forfar Farmington v Giffnock SC Blacks Dean Thistle v Donside Cumbernauld Colts Yellows v EKFC Girls Aberdeen Reds v Buchan Braves Jeanfield Swifts Jets v Musselburgh Windsor Blues Clark Drive v Kirkfield United Sauchie Juniors v Hutchison Vale Blacks Blairgowrie v Motherwell Kintore United v North Berwick Auchtermuchty Bellvue Colts v Phoenix Oranges Hamilton v Bayside Lauderdale or Holytown Colts Blacks v Glasgow City Parkmoor v Calderbraes Pollok United v Arniston Rangers Cambusdoon Blacks v Hibernian Whites Stewarton Annick v Dunipace Banchory Girls v Holytown Colts Reds Rossvale Reds v Bishopton Dunfermline Athletic Reds v Penicuik Athletic Murieston United Reds v Raith Rovers Rockets Bo’ness United v Kirriemuir Thistle Jeanfield Swifts Jazz v The Swifts Blues Stirling Albion Reds v Westdyke Giffnock SC Whites v Thorn Athletic Shotts Bon Accord Blacks v Dumbarton United Blacks Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Culter Diamonds Aberdeen West End v Larkhall Thistle Formartine United Reds v Glenburn MW or Drumsagard Blantyre Celtic v Deveronvale Dunfermline Athletic Whites v Renfrew Dunbar United Colts v Queen of the South Melrose FC v Milton Girls Drumchapel United v Dundee West Reds Hutchison Vale v Castlevale YDC Phoenix Pinks v Wishaw Wycombe Wanderers St Andrews & East Neuk v Stirling Albion Whites Kilwinning FA v Colony Quines Bo’ness United Navy v Houston United Ardrossan Winton Rovers Blacks v Dryburgh Athletic Glenrothes Strollers v St Mirren Burnbank FC v Giffnock SC Purples Boroughmuir Thistle Purples v Murieston United Blues Dundee West Royals v Cumbernauld Colts Blues
BYES: Riverside Sky Turriff United Youth
*Note: The SWF has referred to this round as “Preliminary Round 2” but I don’t understand why. I believe it should be the 1st Round.
16s Scottish Challenge Cup – 2nd Round (Ties to be played: Sat/Sun 20/21 Apr 2024)
Morton Community v Cockenzie Star Blackburn United v Rossvale Bo’ness United v St Mirren Cumbernauld Colts v Thistle Youth Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Falkirk Central Girls v Holytown Colts Stonehaven Youth v Aberdeen West End Glenburn MW v Musselburgh Windsor YPL Aberdeen Reds v West Park United Riverside v Glasgow City YPL Queen of the South v Westdyke Wishaw Wycombe Wanderers v Ardrossan Winton Rovers Blacks Glasgow City Dev v Hibernian YPL St Andrews & East Neuk v East Fife Montrose v Gartcairn Cambusdoon FC v Aberdeen Blacks Strathaven Dynamos v Bonnyrigg Rose Renfrew Ladies v Lauderdale Turriff United v Dundee East Dundee West Royals v Kirriemuir Thistle Evro Girls Academ v Athena Glasgow Huntly v Moray Girls Grampian Girls United v Falkirk YPL Spartans Beveridge v Bayside 16s YPL Clark Drive v Murieston United Reds Dumbarton United v Forfar Farmington Gullane Athletic v Westerton United Glasgow Girls Pinks v Kilwinning FA Millennium v Glasgow Girls Purples Musselburgh Windsor Blues v Bayside 15s
BYES: Port Glasgow Spartans Reilly YPL
18s Scottish Challenge Cup – 2nd Round (Ties to be played: Sat/Sun 20/21 Apr 2024)
Falkirk v Gartcairn Renfrew v Turriff United Youth Grampian Girls v Inverness Caledonian Thistle Ayr United v EKFC Girls Jeanfield Swifts v Ross County Raith Rovers Colts v Spartans Harrison Blackhall Athletic v Dunfermline Athletic Boroughmuir Thistle Jags v East Fife Forfar Farmington v Cumbernauld Colts Glasgow Girls v Harmony Row Musselburgh Windsor Blues v Westdyke Giffnock v Dundee West Reds Bo’ness United v Queen of the South Edinburgh South v St Mirren
Six months into the footballing year and we have a break to coincide (mostly) with the school holidays and an irregular Scottish phenomenon known as “summer”. Here’s a story-so-far review of the season/years, featuring league tables and cup results alongside thoughts, observations and random musings.
As you know the regional youth set up in girls’ football is split into six geographical and distinct regions. I say ‘distinct’ because there are different approaches to the footballing calendar within each of them. What works in one region may not necessarily work in another, especially with the great distances between teams in some areas.
14s
North and South West had grading friendlies at 14s, which seemed to last forever, but have now settled into their leagues with fixtures set to the end of November. Both East and South East had three leagues at 14s in the first half of the year, which appear, to some, to have been nothing more than glorified grading friendlies as the leagues are slightly rejigged over the summer and all the results are zeroed. No word, at time of writing, about Central but I believe there’s some reshuffling of the leagues there too, while West has two leagues with fixtures from February through to November.
16s
North region had grading friendlies at 16s and their two leagues – Kim Little and Rachael Boyle – have been very competitive. The two East 16s leagues have been altered. Central 16s play right through to the end of November but we’re still awaiting confirmation on the South East 16s leagues. West 16s is probably one of my favourite leagues because it’s a proper big league (16 teams) with five teams currently separated by 6 points. South West also goes from February to November.
18s
With not enough teams to justify 18s leagues in the North, East and South East regions, 21 teams across these regions played a League Cup split initially into groups. Similarly, Central, West and South West joined together for a cross-region 18s Emma Mukandi league. Neither competition was without issues but more on that later.
While every attempt has been made to be as factually correct as possible, feel free to message me should you see any errors, whether they be factual or typographic. With the sheer volume of information here, the occasional faux pas may slip through.Corrections will be made as and when I’m informed.
14s North Rachel Corsie
Westdyke Girls kicked off the campaign with an “away” derby win against Westdyke Girls Thistle and an unbeaten run of seven wins ensued to help them set the pace from Colony Park (one game in hand) and Aberdeen Blacks (two games adrift).
League Note: Only two unplayed fixtures from the first half of the season and two fixtures from the second half have already been played early. 14s North Christy Grimshaw
A six point spread separates four teams in a fiercely competitive Christy Grimshaw league. Both Dyce Girls and Deveronvale have a 100% record but something has to give as they kick off the second half of the season against each other on 19 August. Turriff United Youth and Banchory will be waiting for either or both to slip us as the season progresses.
League Note: Only one unplayed game from the first half of the season.
14s North Rachel McLauchlan
This 9-a-side league in the North is dominated by the two Ross County teams, with Inverness Reds not far behind.
League Note: Only one unplayed game from the first half of the season. One league match incorrectly dated on SWF website.
14s North League Cups/Plates
Rachel Corsie league leaders Westdyke Girls lost in the 2nd Round to Colony Park, who went all the way to the final to play free-scoring Inverness Caledonian Thistle who hit the net 17 times in three ties. An exciting final ended 3-3 after extra time with Inverness edging the penalty shoot-out 4-3.
Westdyke Girls made up for their early exit in the League Cup with two home wins in the Plate before defeating Moray Girls 6-3 in the final.
The 14s North Highlands & Islands League Cup is being run as a league with Ross County leading the way from Forres and ICT Reds after a handful of games.
14s East Caroline Weir
A two-horse race between Forfar Farmington and Dunfermline Athletic Whites at the top, although the latter had a game in hand by the end of June. Unfortunately, the leagues are being amended over the summer so those games count for nothing. Subject to confirmation, it looks like Dundee East, East Fife and St Andrews and East Neuk will drop down to Tier 2, with Arbroath CSC Yellows, The Swifts Blues and Raith Rovers moving into Tier 1.
League Note: Five unplayed games from the first half of the season. A few errors on the SWF’s website in this league. Dunfermline Athletic Whites beat Dundee East 4-0 on 12 June, not 14 June. Both matches between East Fife and St Andrews & East Fife were reversed. The first on 16 May was won by St Andrews at home. The second match between them, on Mon 19 June, was won by East Fife in Leven 7-5. However, at time of writing, the SWF website only has one of those results but it’s listed on the wrong date. The other one is missing. A couple of other results are missing too, namely 22 June: Jeanfield Swifts Jets 0-4 Dunfermline Athletic Whites and 26 June: Dundee East 4-0 St Andrews & East Neuk.
14s East Lucy Graham
A solitary defeat saw Arbroath CSC Yellows lead this Tier 2 league. They, alongside The Swifts Blues and Raith Rovers Ravens, will probably move up to the top tier with Dundee East, East Fife and St Andrews and East Fife going the other way. Glenrothes Strollers Reds will move up from the Lana Clelland and two new teams – Dundee United Community and Dundee United Sports Club – will enter the leagues at this level. All subject to confirmation.
League Note: Two unplayed league games. The Swifts Blues v Raith Rovers Ravens listed as 1-1 but I was informed it was 2-2. One missing result on 22 June: Kirrie Thistle 5-0 Letham Girls.
14s East Lana Clelland
Glenrothes Strollers Reds dominated this league with 11 wins out of 11 and are moving up a tier after the summer break. Kennoway Star Hearts will take their place and three, possibly four, teams will join the league. These teams are Dunfermline Athletic Reds, Forfar Farmington and one, possibly two, teams representing Blairgowrie.
League Note: Six unplayed games in the first half of the season. One missing result from SWF website – 31 May: Arbroath Blues 1-4 St James. Dryburgh beat Panmure 5-0 on 19 June, not 27 May.
14s East League Cup/Plate
A one-goal quarter-final win over top tier league leaders Forfar Farmington, followed by a derby win over the Jets, saw Jeanfield Swifts Jags reach the League Cup final in June. After a tight first round win over The Swifts Blues, Dunfermline Athletic Whites went goal crazy, scoring 25 goals in three games to reach the final. Their form continued with a convincing win over the Jags.
The Swifts Blues defeated Arbroath Blues, Kirrie Thistle and East Fife before meeting Glenrothes Strollers in the final. Strollers had beaten their own Reds team in the semi-final. A close final was won 2-1 by The Swifts Blues.
14s South East Joelle Murray
This seven-team league was dominated by Musselburgh Windsor who won all of their twelve fixtures. Broxburn Athletic Colts were the best of the rest. It looks like Lauderdale and Spartans Beveridge will drop out of the top tier after the break, with five teams replacing them. Subject to confirmation.
League Note: Four unplayed games in the first half of the season.
14s South East Lizzie Arnot
A single defeat in eleven games saw Murieston United lead this league at the end of June, with four teams within four points of each other just behind. Those teams five look to be moved up to Tier 1 in August with Lauderdale and Spartans Beveridge dropping into this league, joined by four new teams from the third tier.
League Note: Six unplayed games in the first half of the season.
14s South East Frankie Brown
Blackburn United Whites topped this fourteen-team league heading into the summer, with Melrose and Boroughmuir Thistle Whites not far behind.
League Note: Eight unplayed games in the first half of the season. Five missing results on the SWF website:
Tier 1 table-topping Musselburgh Windsor defeated Tier 2 Boroughmuir Thistle Purples 3-0 in the League Cup final in June.
Neither of the finalists in the League Plate had conceded a goal en route to the final so something had to give. One goal for Broxburn Athletic Colts four minutes from the end of extra time saw the West Lothian team victorious over Bonnyrigg Rose.
14s Central Sam Kerr
A 100% record over 10 games saw Holytown Colts Reds lead the Sam Kerr league at the summer break. Motherwell and Milton Girls, with just one defeat apiece, stood 2nd and 3rd. It looks like four teams will drop to tier 2 with three coming up.
League Note: Eight unplayed games in the first half of the season. A couple of games played on 13 May but listed on SWF as 14 May.
14s Central Nicola Docherty
A solitary defeat for Westerton United saw them take a three-point advantage over Dunipace. Both those teams, along with Rossvale Red, will move to the top tier after the summer.
League Note: No unplayed games. Kilsyth withdrew from this league in February and Wasps Community withdrew in May after playing five games.
14s Central Fiona Brown
Coming into the summer Falkirk 13s and Cumbernauld Colts Blues were neck and neck on 18 points, with Rossvale Yellows a further three points back. Sauchie Amateurs withdrew before the start of the season and Westerton United Blues dropped out without playing a game.
League Note: One unplayed game in the first half of the season.
14s Central League Cup/Plate
Despite a spirited performance from Riverside Maroons in the League Cup final, it just wasn’t enough as Holytown Colts Red ran out 5-2 winners after extra time.
Stirling Albion won a close League Plate final 3-2 over Dunipace. Nice to see new teams emerging and being successful.
14s West Jen Beattie
The top four places in this league were separated by just four points. Glasgow Girls 14s (1st) and Glasgow City Orange (3rd) finished unbeaten.
League Note: Seven unplayed games in the first half of the season.
14s West Chloe Arthur
A very competitive Chloe Arthur league saw Glasgow City Black top the table with 11 wins out of 11. The four teams just behind them had 24 points each.
League Note: Ten unplayed games in the first half of the season. Hillwood Girls withdrew in mid-April from this league. Drumchapel United 5-0 Morton Whites incorrectly dated as 22 April on SWF website. Actually played on 26 April (confirmed by Usqor).
14s West League Cup/Plate
Glasgow Girls 14s defeated Glasgow City Orange 3-0 in the League Cup final and didn’t concede a goal in the tournament.
Houston United defeated St Mirren 3-2 after extra time in an entertaining League Plate final.
14s South West Erin Cuthbert
After weeks of grading friendlies, the league finally kicked off in April. A short first half saw Queen of the South and Cambuslang in the top 2 spots with unbeaten records. They have still to play each other twice.
League Note: Seven unplayed games in the first half of the season. Cambusdoon 1-1 EKFC played 11 June, not 10 June. Fixtures listed for 12 August and 16 August are exactly the same.
14s South West Lee Gibson
East Kilbride Thistle Reds led the way at the break although unbeaten Ardrossan Winton Rovers had two games in hand.
League Note: Eleven unplayed games in the first half of the season.
14s South West League Cup/Plate
Clark Drive belied their lowly league position to reach the final, only to lose 2-1 to a last minute winner for league leaders Queen of the South.
Cambuslang’s defeat to Hamilton in the League Cup saw them drop into the League Plate where they defeated Heston Rovers Belles in the final.
16s North Kim Little
The league began in April after a series of grading friendlies. Three teams went into the summer break unbeaten (Aberdeen, Ross County and Westdyke Girls) with Aberdeen topping the pile.
League Note: Four unplayed games in the first half of the season and one already played from the second half.
16s North Rachael Boyle
Seven wins out of seven saw Deveronvale hold off the challenge of Aberdeen West End.
League Note: No unplayed games in the first half of the season. Banchory Girls withdrew. As at 9 July, Grampian’s 4-3 win over Colony Park on 1 July is not reflected in the SWF’s table.
16s North League Cup
Westdyke Girls and Thistle Youth contested the League Cup final. A tight game went to extra time where Westdyke pulled away for a 4-1 victory.
16s East Caroline Weir
Dryburgh Athletic led this 7-team league from East Fife and Forfar Farmington. The bottom three (Raith Rovers Raiders, Arbroath CSC and Scone Thistle) will drop to tier 2.
League Note: Four unplayed games in the first half of the season. Montrose withdrew before the season started. (Updated on 10 July with an awarded result).
16s East Abbi Grant
Bayside led this league going into the break although second placed East 15s had a game in hand. Jeanfield Swifts were sitting in third and those three teams look likely to move up to tier 1 in August. Blairgowrie, who only played friendlies in the first half of the season, look like to join competitively after the summer.
League Note: Two unplayed games in the first half of the season. Bayside’s 9-1 win over Blairgowrie on 3 June incorrectly reflected in SWF’s table as Blairgowrie only playing friendlies and their results shouldn’t be in the table.
16s East League Cup
Dryburgh’s first round defeat away at Forfar Farmington paved the way for their two nearest league rivals to contest the final of the League Cup, with Forfar Farmington narrowly defeating East Fife 15s 2-1.
Cup note: Kennoway Star Hearts defeated Bayside 3-1 on penalties after a 3-3 draw in the quarter finals only for Bayside to be awarded the tie on appeal. This appeal was upheld only for Bayside to withdraw from the subsequent semi-final as the date clashed with a foreign trip. This gave Forfar Farmington a bye to the final.
16s South East Joelle Murray
A hotly contested league saw four teams finish within three points of each other. Bonnyrigg and Livingston topped with 15 points, although the latter had two games in hand.
League Note: Three unplayed games in the first half of the season. Musselburgh Windsor 5-13 Hibs was played on 4 May, not 6 May (confirmed by Usqor).
16s South East Lizzie Arnot
Murieston United led the way with an unbeaten record from Spartans Reilly.
League Note: Two unplayed games in the first half of the season. A couple of results listed under the wrong dates on SWF website.
16s South East League Cup
Tie of the 2nd Round saw Joelle Murray league leaders Bonnyrigg and Livingston clash with the away team winning 2-1. They met Spartans Harrison in the final and ran out 4-2 winners. 16s Central Lee Gibson
Central Girls topped the league at the halfway mark with a 100% record from Glasgow City Orange and Rossvale.
League Note: Seven unplayed games in the first half of the season. The only 16s league that regularly plays on a Sunday, while the other 16s leagues usually play on Saturdays. I wonder why that is. Can anyone enlighten me?
16s Central League Cup
Their league form meant that Central Girls started favourites and were worthy of the tag. After defeating nearest league rivals Glasgow City Orange in the first round, subsequent wins over Airdrie and Rossvale saw them face Riverside in the final. Central ran out 6-1 winners.
16s West Leanne Crichton
This is probably my favourite league. Not only is it a big 16-team league with the fixtures already sorted from February until November but it’s also one of the closest and therefore most competitive. At the halfway mark of the season, Dumbarton United and St Mirren have 39 points, with Glasgow Girls (100% record and with games in hand), Giffnock Black and Morton not far behind.
League Note: Although there are 15 games unplayed games from the first half of the season, this is also the league with the most fixtures played with teams having played between 12 and 17 so far. There’s also an abandoned game to be replayed. On the SWF website the fixtures for Saturday 17 June were wrongly listed as 18 June. Drumchapel beat Athena 3-2 on 3 May, not 5 March. I have the 13 June match between Glasgow City White and BSC Glasgow as a 7-0 win for the home team but the SWF website has it listed as 3-0, with no indication of an award. Can anyone confirm the right result?
16s West League Cup
This was probably one of the most open League Cups with a number of teams fancying their chances. Glasgow Girls and Giffnock Black contested the final but unfortunately the game was abandoned when a spectator fell ill during the game. No date has been set for it to be replayed as yet. Thankfully the spectator has made a full recovery.
16s South West Erin Cuthbert
Queen of the South Whites led the way going into the break from Glasgow City Black, Ardrossan Winton Rovers and Queen of the South Blues.
League Note: Seven unplayed games in the first half of the season. Kilbirnie dropped out before the league started and Stewarton Annick withdrew in April. I was led to believe that Ardrossan Winton Rovers v Cumnock on 27 May (originally scheduled for 17 May) was ‘awarded’ but nothing official yet.
16s South West League Cup
There was a good chance that at least one Queen of the South team would reach the final and so it proved as Queen of the South Blues defeated Ardrossan Winton Rovers 6-0. 18s North/East/South East League Cup
As previously mentioned, there weren’t enough teams in each of the three regions to make competitive leagues, so they were formed into a three-group League Cup. I’m not sure why they didn’t go with four groups, to make qualification calculation easier.
Group 1 was dominated by Jeanfield Swifts and Penicuik Athletic, Group 2 saw Musselburgh Windsor, Dunfermline Athletic and Raith Rovers Colts qualify for the quarter-finals where they were joined by Livingston, Aberdeen and Musselburgh Windsor Whites from Group 3. The other teams went into the Plate competition.
The League Cup final was contested by the two teams from Group A – Jeanfield Swifts and Penicuik Athletic. Jeanfield had won their group encounter 5-2 and got the better again, albeit with a much closer 3-2 win after a spirited fightback by Penicuik.
18s North/East/South East League Plate
Eleven teams contested the League Plate with Bo’ness United and Dryburgh serving up a six-goal thriller in the final. It went to penalties with Bo’ness United triumphing 5-4.
Cup Notes – Group A: One unplayed game in this group. Glenrothes Strollers withdrew in April due to a shortage of players but one of their results is still reflected in the SWF’s table.
Cup Notes – Group B: All games played. AM Soccer withdrew in February.
Cup Notes – Group C: One game unplayed. Dundee West withdrew in February.
18s Cross Region (Central/West/South West) Emma Mukandi
There didn’t seem to be a week going by without the composition of this league changing, for several reasons. Initially there were 16 teams, only for Sauchie Amateurs to withdraw before it started. Gartcairn and Evro Girls Academy joined them as they were only to play friendlies as they were going to be joining the National Academy Performance leagues after the summer (or so they thought!) Then West Park United and Kirkfield United dropped out leaving us with just 11 teams.
When the league finally started Glasgow City were the pace setters and remained undefeated going into the summer, just ahead of Glasgow Girls and Drumchapel United.
League Note: 11 unplayed games in this league.
18s Cross Region League Cup/Plate
There wasn’t a good start to the League Cup with five of the six first round ties being “awarded”. By the time we got to the semi-finals only four ties had been played. Glasgow City won the final 5-1 against Glasgow Girls.
Seven teams were in the draw for the Plate. Rossvale won a close final 3-2 against Ayr United.
There has been talk of a North 18s league and a South 18s league for the second half of the year but that’s unconfirmed at this time.
Scottish Challenge Cups
14s
This competition began in early March with ties split into the six regions. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the conventions of sporting knockout competitions knows that you might start with 128 teams (split into 64 ties), who then become 64 teams (32 ties) and then 32 teams (16 ties) etc. until there are two teams left in the final. However, in their infinite wisdom, the SWF had conspired to put 76 teams through instead of the standard 64. This forced them to add another round towards the end of March to eliminate another 14 teams to get down to the requisite 64 teams. I pointed out this issue to two members of SWF staff and asked for their comments but I never got a reply from them.
The 4th Round, consisting of 32 teams begins again on the weekend of 26/27 August 2023, with one tie still listed as outstanding from the 3rd Round, namely Clark Drive v Inverness Caledonian Thistle, which is due to be played on 19 August. Although, on the SWF website, they seem to have already put Inverness through.
16s
This age group also began with ties split into regions. However, just like the 14s draw, the governing body made a bit of a pig’s ear of it and had 48 teams going through. The draw was amended rather than redrawn and finally we got to the appropriate number of teams (64) making it into the 2nd Round at the end of March. This issue was also pointed out in the same email as the one about the 14s draw but I never got a response from those SWF staff to that one either.
On the weekend of 26/27 August we have the last 16 ties.
18s
You would think the SWF would get at least one of the Challenge Cup draws correct. Think again.
The original draw for ties to be played on 18/19 March had 4 ties and 29 byes. That’s right, they had 33 teams going through instead of 32. It turns out they’d given Evro Girls Academy two byes! Eventually, due to the number of 18s teams folding throughout the country, the original draw was abandoned and re-done with 15 ties and 1 bye on 27/28 May. Unfortunately, seven of those 1st Round ties were either awarded or forfeited and two are still to be played. Penicuik Athletic v Forfar Farmington is scheduled for 13 August and Aberdeen v Raith Rovers Colts a week later.
The last 16 takes place on the weekend of 26/27 August.
Thanks
With six months of the year gone and another six to go there’s already been a lot of football played in 2023 with a lot more to come.
A big thank you to everyone who contributes to @GirlsResults (my home on Twitter) to make the page what it is. We continue to go from strength to strength and in the past six months we have grown from 3000 followers to 4300. I couldn’t do it without the help of all the teams, coaches, players, referees, parents and club staff who pass on scores and other information to help it become the best results service it can be.
It’s not perfect. I’m not perfect. But hopefully any issues or errors are sorted in a timely fashion. We all make mistakes but I’m always humble enough to put my hands up to them, acknowledge them, fix them and thank the person who spotted it; usually within about a few minutes. You might only have eyes for one team or league, I have dozens of leagues and hundreds of teams to look after! There have been many kind comments and I thank you for those. I also started a Buy Me a Coffee page so people could show their appreciation in a small way, but only if they can afford it.
We’ll find over the next few weeks how the regional girls leagues are set up for the last 5/6 months of the year. I believe that changes are afoot for the National Performance Leagues and the set up for the women’s leagues has already been announced. Plenty of football to come and hopefully I can get to more matches. Usually my weekend is spent in Jeff Stelling mode, glued to my computer in the mancave, collating and publishing the results and tables. As much as I enjoy that I’m going to try to get out and about more in the second half of the season to meet some of the contributors to the site.
Enjoy what’s left of the summer and I’ll see you all in August.
(All photographs are used by kind permission of the teams concerned. Thanks to Kelly Neilson for use of the Rossvale 18s photograph. Check out her excellent sports photography at her website.)
One of my side projects over the past few years has been @GirlsResults, a Twitter page dedicated to bringing the fastest and best results service in girls football in Scotland. There are competitive regional leagues for 14s, 16s and 18s and here is my summary of the past league season, which ran from February through to the end of November. Due to postponements for various reasons (I’m looking at you, Scottish weather!), some leagues ran over into December and some remained incomplete.
The leagues are split across six regions – North, East, South East, Central, West and South West – and each one is named after current or past Scottish international players. (While every attempt has been made to as factually correct as possible, feel free to message me should you see any errors, whether they be factual or typographic.)
18s North Kim Little
Ellon Meadows withdrew before the season began and Westdyke, Buchan and Banchory all dropped out during the summer, so their results were removed. Inverness Caledonian Thistle lost only one game on their way to the title.
18s South East/East Jenna Fife
The season started with nine teams but finished with just five in this cross-region league encompassing South East and East. Kirkcaldy/Raith Rovers withdrew before the season started. Dundee United’s matches were initially listed as friendlies as they were touted to join the National Performance Academy (NAP) in the summer, but this didn’t come to fruition and the team folded. Bonnyrigg Rose withdrew in March to join the ladies’ SWFL Central/South East league and Boroughmuir Thistle Purples pulled out in June. East Fife, who had been in the 19s NPL the season before, were said to be joining in the summer but this didn’t happen. Spartans McMahon folded just before the end of the season.
18s South East/East Kirsty Smith
Nine teams started the second tier South East/East league in February and seven remained at the end. A very young Arniston Diamonds team withdrew in April and played friendlies until joining the 16s South East Lizzie Arnot league after the summer. Dundee West folded their team in September. Dryburgh Athletic won the league with a 100% record.
18s Cross Region Emma Mitchell
Twelve teams were due to start the season in this cross region league encompassing Central, West and South West. Unfortunately, Kilwinning withdrew before the season started, Giffnock left in the summer, Gartcairn departed to go NAP, Falkirk dropped out in August and Wishaw Wycombe Wanderers withdrew in September. Drumchapel United just pipped Evro Football Pro by a single point in a very competitive league. This was a reversal of the defeat to Evro Football Pro in the League Cup final in June.
16s North Kim Little
Thirteen teams started this league, but Westdyke Girls Thistle (Westdyke’s second team) and Aberdeen Colts (Aberdeen’s second team) withdrew during the summer. The fixtures for this league were unbalanced from the start and despite pointing this out to the SWF and offering timeous solutions in February and again in August my suggestions weren’t taken up. Notwithstanding several fixtures not being played, several teams were advantaged (and others conversely disadvantaged) by the fixtures, as you can see in the table above. Champions Colony Park played 11 home and 9 away games. Westdyke Girls (9-11) and Ross County (9-11) were both disadvantaged, while Stonehaven profited with 12 home and 8 away games. Of the teams who didn’t play their full 20 fixtures, Grampian Girls had just 7 home and 12 away fixtures. The problem with unbalanced fixtures in the North region has been a regular problem over recent seasons.
16s East Caroline Weir
This was one of the leagues that was zeroed after the summer. The top six teams from this league joined the top 4 from the Abbi Grant pre-summer league. Jeanfield Swifts maintained their form from the first half of the season and only a draw against Dundee United in November prevented the champions from getting a 100% record. My table differs from the SWF’s as I believe they’ve missed two scores – 29 October: Dundee United 5-0 Glenrothes Strollers and 19 November: Dunfermline 4-0 Glenrothes Strollers.
16s East Abbi Grant
The bottom four from the pre-summer Caroline Weir league joined the bottom four from the original Abbi Grant league to form the post-summer Abbi Grant league. This was a very competitive league with East Fife coming out on top. Bayside withdrew from the league with a couple of weeks to go – why not just forfeit the remaining games? – and the SWF have zeroed their place in the table. My table is different from the SWF’s because they haven’t removed all Bayside’s scores as has been the case whenever a team usually withdraws from a league mid-season.
16s South East Joelle Murray
Hibernian Whites, Spartans Galbraith and Hutchison Vale began the season in this league but their games were classed as friendlies due to them all joining the NAP after the summer. Spartans Harrison inflicted Penicuik Athletic’s only league defeat in a season that saw them win both this league and the 16s Scottish Challenge Cup. Again, the SWF’s table differs from mine as several of Hutchison Vale’s results that were erased when they left the league have suddenly re-appeared and affected their table. SWF haven’t offered an explanation.
16s South East Lizzie Arnot
Eleven teams began this league however Penicuik’s second team (Whites) withdrew during the summer and Cockenzie Star pulled out before the season started. Arniston Diamonds joined in the summer having dropped out of the 18s South East/East Kirsty Smith league. Blackburn United Yellows completed the double having defeated Hutchison Vale in extra time to win the League Cup and beating Murieston United Whites to the league title with a couple of games to spare. Lauderdale and Dalkeith have their “games played” number in red to indicate an IT issue that the SWF haven’t been able to resolve since it occurred back in June.
16s Central Sam Kerr
Following the withdrawal of Stenhousemuir, eleven teams kicked off the fiercely competitive Sam Kerr league. Central Girls remained unbeaten to win the title from Rossvale. Once more, my table differs from the SWF as Dunipace, who completed their full fixtures, have, for some reason had their results zeroed in the table. However, only some of them have been removed from the Results section on the SWF website. I did ask the SWF why but they haven’t responded yet.
16s West Leanne Crichton
Port Glasgow withdrew before the season began and the Development teams of both Glasgow City and Glasgow Girls withdrew during the summer. Only three teams completed all 20 fixtures and those were the bottom three teams. Pollok United remained unbeaten to win the league but lost out 2-0 in the League Cup final to St Mirren.
16s South West Erin Cuthbert
Queen of the South won all 16 of their league fixtures with only one solitary Cambusdoon goal conceded. Kilmarnock began the season in this league but as another team departing for the NAP after the summer their games were only classed as friendlies, not that they played many against the teams in this league. Rutherglen also withdrew in the summer.
14s North Rachel Corsie
A three-way battle between Aberdeen, Grampian Girls United and Thistle Youth saw a very exciting league campaign. Aberdeen were the victors and added the league title to their League Cup trophy won against Turriff United Youth back in May.
14s North Christy Grimshaw
All fixtures completed in this league with Deveronvale coming out on top ahead of Westdyke Girls Thistle.
14s North Rachel McLauchlan
Ross County did the double with a convincing League Cup final win over Nairn St Ninian being followed by a league title victory in a very competitive league.
14s East Caroline Weir
All three East Region 14s leagues were zeroed in the summer. One fixture remains in this league (at time of writing) with both Dryburgh and Forfar Farmington 14s sitting on 23 points. However, while Forfar Farmington have fulfilled all their fixtures, Dryburgh Athletic have a game in hand, a home game against Bayside, which failed to beat the weather in early December.
(Update: apparently Drybugh Athletic v Bayside was played on 17 December and was a 1-1 draw. Table amended accordingly.)
(Further update: It seems that the game wasn’t played after all and the League Management Community decided, in their infinite wisdom, to make the game a 1-1 draw. Understandably, Forfar Farmington weren’t happy about it and I can understand why. If the shoe (or should that be boot?) was on the other foot I don’t think Dryburgh would’ve been happy. That’s the third time in 2022 the SWF made up a result for a game. Personally, I think it’s a ridiculous decision. In my opinion, the title should’ve been shared. The SWF and one of their LMCs have thrown sporting integrity out the window.)
14s East Lucy Graham
Jeanfield Swifts Jags followed in the footsteps of their 16s and won the league title, although it was a close-run thing with Forfar Farmington 13s. The Jags did the double with a 3-2 extra time victory over Panmure in the League Cup final in June.
14s East Lana Clelland
At some point around October, the SWF decided to make this league a non-competitive one and their table was zeroed for all teams.
14s South East Joelle Murray
Hearts and Hibernian (Purples) were going to the NAP so their games were classed as friendlies and therefore weren’t included in the table. Blackburn United Whites left the league in June, with Gullane Athletic following suit in the summer to drop down to the Lizzie Arnot league. Hutchison Vale left the league in September. This left six teams to fight for the title with Hibernian Greens coming out on top. Bottom-of-the-table Spartans Reilly won the League Cup defeating Hibernian Greens 3-2 on penalties (after a 2-2 draw) in the semi-final and then Musselburgh Windsor Blues 3-2 in the final.
14s South East Lizzie Arnot
Ten teams began their league campaign but both Hutchison Vale Community and Arniston Diamonds left during the season. Gullane Athletic joined after the summer, which explains why they have only played 8 games. Broxburn Athletic pipped Spartans Beveridge by a solitary point to lift the trophy. Spartans Beveridge had the consolation of winning the League Cup Plate, defeating Hibernian Yellows 4-1. My table differs from the SWF’s for two reasons. I’m told that the score between Blackburn and Edinburgh South on 12 November was 2-1 and not 9-0, which Blackburn confirmed. Also, the week before Cockenzie Star informed me that their game against Blackburn didn’t go ahead because there was no referee available, which was a regular issue for them. SWF decided to just make it a 0-0 draw, which I just don’t understand.
14s South East Frankie Brown
A solitary defeat – to runners up Tranent Colts – in 22 games saw Hibernian Yellows take the title. It was great to see a number of new teams competing in the 14s leagues and let’s hope they continue to expand.
14s Central Fiona Brown
Riverside joined the league after the summer, with Central Girls and Kirkfield United changing to the Nicola Docherty league. Falkirk 14s won a tight league by two points from Riverside. Those two teams also competed for the League Cup Plate after shock defeats in the main tournament with Falkirk making it a double. Wishaw Wycombe Wanderers belied their league position to defeat Kilsyth Community 4-1 in the League Cup final in June.
14s Central Lee Alexander
A post-summer record of ten wins out of ten saw Westerton United run away with this league.
14s Central Nicola Docherty
A 100% record saw Airdrie Girls hold off a spirited challenge from West Park United.
14s West Chloe Arthur
It was a 1-2-3 for Glasgow City with their Pink, Orange and White teams filling the first three places. The Orange team also won the League Cup defeating Dumbarton United 4-3 in the final. Again, my table differs from the SWF’s because in a league where each team plays each other four times they have contrived to find a fifth result for Glasgow City White v Thorn Athletic. Explanation awaited. (Update, I never got an explanation despite asking more than once.)
14s West Jen Beattie
Glasgow City, this time in the form of their Black team, also won the Jen Beattie league. They did a double by defeating Renfrew to win the League Cup Plate too. My table differs from the SWF as they haven’t posted the result of Giffnock Reds versus BSC Glasgow from 30 November. The visitors won 2-1.
14s South West Erin Cuthbert
Unbeaten Ardrossan Winton Rovers won the league by a single point from Queen of the South.
14s South West Lee Alexander
Kilwinning’s 1-0 win over Cumnock Juniors on the last day of the season gave them a 100% record and just held off nearest rivals Glenburn Girls.
Thanks
So that’s the facts and figures of the regional league campaigns for the 14s, 16s and 18s teams across the six regions of girls’ football in Scotland in 2022. Congratulations and sincere thanks to all the teams, coaches, player, referees, parents, ground staff and others who make the season possible and give the girls a great athletic outlet. A special thanks to everyone who contributes to the site with information on fixtures, leagues and scores. Not to mention, plenty of gossip! Without you all, the page would be a lot harder to run. I should also thank Rebecca, Jack, Kirsty and Aileen from Scottish Women’s Football for their assistance throughout the season. (Note: The 14s, 16s and 18s National Academy Performance leagues continue into next year.)
On a personal level, there were many highs and some lows in relation to the girls and women’s game within Scotland. My own daughter left competitive football in the summer for further education but has enjoyed representing her university at futsal. I miss seeing her play but I have great memories of watching her in action.
While I don’t have any figures to hand it does appear that the game in general is recovering after the COVID-enforced lockdowns and hopefully it can regain the momentum that was kicking in after Scotland’s appearance at the 2019 World Cup.
In December, the Girls Results Twitter page passed the 3000 followers mark, which was a great achievement in just two years. Long may that progress continue. I am constantly blown away by the compliments I receive from players, coaches, parents, and other interested parties (I hate the word stakeholders!) within the game. It’s nice that the followers appreciate the amount of work that goes into the page.
I put a lot of hours – pretty much the whole weekend for a start – and do it solely for the love of the game. Unfortunately, there are some who don’t appreciate that and feel that they have the right to abuse me. I don’t deserve that and will not tolerate it. A couple of coaches (and their teams) were blocked this season. For some reason, I am also blocked by an SWPL1 club. I’ve tried to find out why but without success.
Let’s end on a more positive tone. The number of leagues and clubs/teams continues to increase year-on-year and that can only be a good thing for the game. There are so many health benefits for young women taking part in sport, not only football, and long may it continue.
Right, when does pre-season start?
(All photographs are used by kind permission of Thomas Sands Media. Thomas is a great photographer and a well kent face around the women’s and girls game in Scotland. Check out his website to see the quality of his work.)
Jocknroll Ain't Noise Pollution 