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Aberdeen FC Ladies Under-19s look to add Scottish Cup to complete double

by Callum Law
14/11/2019, 2:40 pm
Mairi Whittingham, of the Aberdeen FC Ladies Under-19s squad, in action.
Mairi Whittingham, of the Aberdeen FC Ladies Under-19s squad, in action.

Aberdeen’s under-19 women are bidding to end the season with a memorable cup double.

The Dons take on Celtic in the final of the U17 Scottish Cup at the Oriam on Saturday.

The Reds youngsters have already claimed the National Performance U19 League Cup – beating Hearts 1-0 in the final.

With no U19s Scottish Cup, Aberdeen entered the U17s equivalent as most of their team are still eligible.

After a semi-final success over Rangers they are aiming to win that as well.

And manager Scott Duncan says they have the perfect motivation after missing out on the U19 National Performance League title by one point to Celtic.

He said: “Celtic are very good opposition. The two sides have battled with each other all season.

“Unfortunately we missed out on the league title to them, as they pipped us by one point.

“We’ve played three times this season and all the games finished in a draw.

“But one of them was in the semi-final of the League Cup and we managed to win on penalties.

“So we know it will be a tough game. But we’ve gone the whole league season undefeated so we’re confident.

“Unfortunately, one too many draws cost us in the league – but hopefully we can get a bit of revenge in the cup final.

“It would be a great way to finish the season for the girls and they have the perfect motivation after how close the league was.

“They’ve put in so much hard work and shown commitment over the season as well so it would be great to finish it off by winning the Scottish Cup.”

Duncan, who also manages Aberdeen University Ladies, hopes many of his squad can step up to Aberdeen Women’s first team.

He added: “This is the first year the 19s have been together, but I’ve been with the club since it started in 2011.

“When we started the season we had two 15-year-olds in the U19s league so it’s credit to them and the people who have coached them that they were able to play at that level.

“We’ve had discussions with first-team coaches Emma Hunter and Harley Hamdani and we’re hopeful some of our girls can get first-team experience next season.

“We just need to keep them level-headed and focused.”