Aberdeen Women co-boss Gavin Beith is delighted that Bayley Hutchison’s debut SWPL 1 season has been recognised with a PFA Scotland nomination for Young Player of the Year.
Hutchison has impressed this term, scoring 18 goals in all competitions, including match-winning braces against Partick Thistle, Hamilton, Hearts and Motherwell.
The striker has continued her accolade-winning form in the top-flight, having previously won SWPL Player of the Month awards in 2018 and 2020.
And co-manager Beith has praised Hutchison’s latest nomination as a “fantastic” achievement for her and the club.
He said: “It’s great for Bayley to get the PFA nomination, with the goals that she’s scored she is going to grab the highlights.
“She is always going to be effective for us in collecting points – it’s a fantastic achievement for her.
“It’s also fantastic for the club. It’s an old cliche, one player gets the recognition, but they can only do it because of their teammates.
“Bayley needs everyone else in the team to ensure she’s getting service to go and score goals.
“Going into a league where it is so competitive and so many good young players, it’s fantastic for her to be recognised amongst the best of them.”
Hutchison’s goal-scoring record speaks for itself, so a nomination came as no surprise to Beith, who described the young striker as ruthless.
“She’s clinical. If you see Bayley going through 1 v 1 then you’re pretty much turning away thinking a goal is going to go in,” Beith added.
“Bayley is very confident in front of goal and is ruthless when she gets in those situations.
“It’s great to see when it does happen in the game.
“Hopefully she will get the accolades for it, and rightly so because she deserves it, but it’s massive for the team as well.”
A future star on the biggest stage?
Hutchison has also shone on the international stage, scoring in each of her Scotland Under-19s appearances this year.
As a result, she has been tipped as one of Scotland’s best young prospects, and Beith reckons she will fulfil her potential if she continues to work hard.
He said: “It’s the start of her journey and she certainly has the ability, but there are things that need to be developed further and it’s making sure we can get the best out of Bayley.
“She is well aware of that – and that’s our job as coaches.
“We need to ensure that we can keep on pushing her in the right direction.
“Bayley has so much going for her and if she wants it enough and continues to work hard, then she has a great opportunity to get there.”