Aberdeen Ladies began their 2018 #SBSSWPL2 season – as they look to return to the top flight at the first attempt – with a good 4-1 away win at Glasgow Girls but then were left disappointed last weekend following a 2-0 home loss to St. Johnstone. A ‘bad day at the office’ was one sentiment, ‘disappointed’ and ’embarrassed’ were others as they reflected on their first match at their new home at the Chris Anderson Stadium in Aberdeen Sports Village. They will be aiming to put that right when they make the short trip to SWPL1 side Forfar Farmington for their SWPL Cup 1st Round tie on Sunday (Station Park, Kick Off: 13:00).
Check out the full set of SWPL Cup Fixtures HERE.
Ahead of the season’s kick off we had a giggle and a chat with defender Ailsa Harper in a QUICK KICKS INTERVIEW:
Name: Ailsa Harper
Club: Aberdeen Ladies
Position: Centre Defender
Where are you from originally? Aberdeen.
Who do you support? (We’re going to guess…) Aberdeen!
Have you got a nickname? No. They just call me Ailsa. Bit boring but Ailsa doesn’t turn into a nickname that well.
Who are your best mates in football? We’re all really a close-knit team.
What’s your best football memory – playing or watching? There’s been so many! Especially from U13s and U16s age groups, we were a really successful team. One memory from a cup final, big crowd and curled a corner kick right into the top corner!
And your worst? There was one cup final when we got beat against the other big rival Aberdeen team (we were ‘East End Youth’ and they were ‘East End United’). They annihilated us. A lot of us are on the same team now, so we’re all friends now.
Who was your favourite player growing up? For a while it was Jamie Langfield, which is weird because he was the goalkeeper. He was always a good guy. When we were young we’d wait outside Pittodrie to see the players and he’d always be nice and chat to you.
What boots do you wear? I change them quite a lot, actually. Adidas at the moment.
Are they always clean? Relatively. When I lived at home more my dad was better at cleaning them for me!
How many pairs of trainers do you own? Too many. Uncountable.
Have you ever had a pet? I’ve had many, many of which have overlapped. A few dogs, a few hamsters. I’ve got a little hamster right now, called Ferrari. (‘Is he fast?’, we asked.) No but I had a previous hamster called Bentley so I kept the car theme.
What’s your regular coffee order? A caramel latte.
Who does the most over the top celebrations in training? Probably our striker Lauren Gordon. She does terrible celebrations. In games she’s a bit more subtle – a bit of an arm celebration – but in training she just runs around giving it, ‘Did you see that?!’
Would you like to play abroad if you got the chance? I’ve spoken to people about the American scholarship thing before, I just don’t think I could cope with the heat somewhere warmer. And I really like Aberdeen, I’m based in Aberdeen and at the university there (studying Business Management) and with the football there.
QUICK KICKS QUESTIONS:
Ronaldo or Messi: Ronaldo
Weights or running: Weights
Chocolate or cheese: Chocolate
Eastenders or Corrie: Corrie
Rice or pasta: Rice
Snapchat or Instagram: Snapchat
Left foot or right foot: Right
Snakes or spiders: Spiders
What’s your favourite flavour of crisps? Salt & vinegar
Is wearing gloves to play acceptable or soft? Oh, it’s acceptable. Always. Sometimes it’s too cold!
Dancing or singing: Dancing
French or German: French
Would you take a penalty in a shoot out? Yes
Are you any good in goal? Yes, I used to be a goalkeeper. I stopped when I was about 13. I’ve had a taste of almost every position, so I gave goalkeeping a try for a season.
Heads or volleys: Heads
Toast or cereal: Toast
Win, lose or draw? WIN!
