Aberdeen FC Ladies’ (AFCL) Bayley Hutchison has been voted as the winner of the Scottish Building Society SWPL Player of the Month for October 2018. The forward, who turned 15-years-old last month, claimed the final Player of the Month award of the season.
While she couldn’t stop Aberdeen’s from suffering back-to-back relegations, Hutchison played a large part in their turn in fortunes after the mid-season break. They won five out of their last eight games, with Hutchison scoring nine goals. This included a brace in their final match of the season in a 4-1 win over Heart of Midlothian.
Speaking from Aberdeen Sports Village, where AFCL played their home games this season, Hutchison said: “I’m really pleased to have won this award. It’s obviously disappointing that we couldn’t avoid relegation but I think we feel like we gave everything we could to pull off a massive shock.”
Aberdeen had just eight points before the break, leaving them and Central Girls FA adrift in the bottom two places. However, Aberdeen’s form improved as they finished just one points from safety.
“To be so close to safety and fall short was very tough. There wasn’t much we could do though. In the final part of the season, we only lost to the top two sides in the league and drew with Edinburgh University Hutchison Vale away from home.
Speaking about her introduction to the first-team, Hutchison said: “It was an exciting opportunity. I have confidence and that was rewarded with the chance to play at that level.
“To score just over a goal a game was really pleasing. I certainly feel I coped at that level, despite my age, and I played my part in helping the team get results. Hopefully I can now help the club get back to that level straight-away.”
Douglas Sharpe, Business Development Manager for Scottish Building Society, said: “A huge congratulations to Bayley. To win this award at just 15-years-old is testament to her ability and how much of an impact she had for AFCL.”
Also nominated for the September award was Hayley Lauder (Glasgow City), Lisa Swanson (FC Kilmarnock), and Rhianna Tweedie (St Johnstone).
“It was another close month of voting, so a well done to all the nominees. They’ve all deserved the break but I’m sure they’ll be excited for the 2019 season just like we are at Scottish Building Society.”
