Tuesday 17th May, 2022 at 5:54pm
Earlier today the shortlists were revealed for this year’s MG ALBA Scottish Women’s Football awards ahead of the special awards ceremony on 4th June at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel and we were delighted to see that the club had been nominated for the SWPL Team of the Year category and that PTWFC manager Brian Graham had been nominated for the SWPL Coach of the Year award.
It has been an incredible season for Partick Thistle Women’s FC as we entered SWPL 1 at two weeks’ notice and embarked on our first ever season in the top-flight of Scottish women’s football.
The team, who were preparing for another campaign in SWPL 2 through pre-season, were suddenly thrust into the ultra-competitive environment of the league above and they adjusted excellently, getting their first win of the league season in game number two as they beat Motherwell 3-2 at home in dramatic fashion showing that they weren’t just in the division to make up the numbers.
Another 3-2 win, this time against SWPL 1 mainstays Hibernian, the following month showed the spirit and desire of the team as they fought back from a 1-0 half-time deficit to win the game.
Thistle hit a purple patch in February as they went unbeaten in four games, winning three of those including tough away games against Hamilton Accies and Hearts.
The Jags’ last win of the campaign was arguably their most exciting and memorable. Hibs were the opponents at Petershill Park for the Biffa Scottish Women’s Cup quarter-finals after the team had come through exciting ties against Motherwell and Boroughmuir Thistle to reach the last eight.
Following a promising start to the game, Thistle broke the deadlock on the half hour mark through Clare Docherty before Taylor Hamill doubled the advantage with five minutes left of the first half. Things then got even better for the home side just after the break as Cara McBrearty fired home a third from close range.
Hibs weren’t giving up easily though and were able to pull the score back to 3-2 with just under half an hour to play. Thistle then displayed the same fighting spirit as they had shown against the Hibees earlier in the season, scoring a fourth through Cheryl McCulloch which allowed them to see the game out in relative comfort.
They went on to face Glasgow City in the semi-finals and, after a valiant effort, fell to a 3-1 defeat against the defending Scottish Cup winners.
Now, with the season at an end, both our manager Brian Graham and the team as a whole are earning well-deserved recognition for their efforts this season.
A huge congratulations to Brian and all the girls on the nominations!
SWPL Coach of the year nominee, Manager Brian Graham said: “It’s an absolute honour to be short listed for coach of the year but the achievements and everything we have done this season has been down to a real team effort which is why I’m more proud and delighted that we have also been nominated for Team of the Year.
“We’ve built a real togetherness here and that has been a massive part of everything that we do. It’s a place where players are enjoying coming to play their football and that has allowed us to achieve against all the odds
“A historic run to the semi-final of the Scottish Cup, the furthest in the club’s history and a 9th place finish in the league, only narrowly tipped from 8th on the last day. All that wouldn’t been possible without everyone at the club. The board, the players, all the volunteers, everyone in my coaching team; Stewart Hall, Ross Docherty, Danica Dalziel, Jamie Sneddon and our physio Kieran who has had to contend with a horrific injury list at times, it’s been down to them all”
