Aberdeen Women captain Kelly Forrest says leading the side out at Pittodrie tomorrow night will be one of the highlights of her football career.
Forrest has been with the club for eight years, and in that time has experienced the highs and the lows.
She was part of the squad that experienced successive relegations, but then captained the side to two consecutive title-winning promotions back to SWPL 1.
The centre-half will skipper the side under the lights at Pittodrie against Rangers tomorrow as Aberdeen Women play their first ever game at the club stadium.
And she reckons that – alongside winning the two titles – it will be up there as one of the highest highs of her football career.
Forrest said: “It’s something that a lot of us have dreamt about doing, especially having played for Aberdeen for a long time.
“It’ll be a really special occasion and a really special moment for me, personally.
“It will definitely be a personal highlight – that and lifting the trophies.”
Forrest is looking forward to leading the side out for the landmark occasion, and knows that it’s a moment that everyone at the club is looking forward to.
“To lead the team out onto such a famous pitch is going to be incredible,” Forrest added.
“We’ve come a long way as a team, it’s not just this season, we’ve had two or three years together now.
“So for all the players, coaches and staff, it’s going to be massive.”
A challenge on the pitch – but one the Dons are up for
It will be a big ask for the Dons on the pitch at Pittodrie as they welcome SWPL 1 league favourites Rangers – a side who have only dropped two points all season.
And with the game being watched on by a record number for an Aberdeen Women game, Forrest hopes the fans will be in full voice to help boost the team.
She said: “We’re not just doing it for the sake of trying to beat record attendances, we want the crowd right behind us on the night.
“Rangers are going to be a tough outfit, so absolutely every person in that crowd has to be right behind us.
“A lot of their players will have played in front of a big crowd, but maybe not a crowd that’s all going to be against them.”
But Forrest insists that her side will be up for the challenge against the Gers, and won’t let the occasion faze them on the pitch.
“We’re competitive and we’re going out to play a football match, and every match we play we want to win,” Forrest explained.
“I think we need to be realistic in our expectations, it might not be pretty, but we will treat it the exact same as we do every game.
“I don’t want the highlight of playing at Pittodrie to take away from the job we’ve got to do – and that’s going out and playing a game of football.”
