Aberdeen Women co-boss Gavin Beith has heaped praise on Millie Urquhart, after the 16-year-old made her first-team debut against Hibernian on Sunday.
Right-back Urquhart was named in the starting XI at the Tony Macaroni Arena, as first choice right-back Loren Campbell was unavailable for selection due to a broken finger.
The youngster, who moved up from the U19s performance league squad, impressed in her first appearance for the senior team, despite the result not going in Aberdeen’s favour.
Beith believes that Urquhart’s debut was one of the biggest positives to take away from the 4-1 defeat against Hibs.
“Millie didn’t look out of place at all,” the Dons co-manager said.
“To be thrown into the deep, you either sink or you swim. Millie knew it was going to be tough, but she was excellent.
“She did really well against one of the top teams in this league with established players, and was a credit to herself putting in that kind of performance.”
🔴 16 year-old Millie Urquhart made her Dons debut this afternoon against Hibs.
👏🏽 Congratulations Millie!#StandFree | @UrquhartMillie pic.twitter.com/f3AnOJHd1C
— Aberdeen FC Women (@AberdeenWomen) May 8, 2022
After a strong debut, Beith has said Urquhart has earned her place in the squad, and expects her to start in tomorrow’s clash against Glasgow City.
Against the 14-time SWPL 1 champions, it will be another task for the teenager, but one Beith reckons she is ready for.
He added: “These teams are what you’re going to come up against in seasons to come, so why not prepare now and give yourself that opportunity.
“It’s the age-old cliché, but age doesn’t really matter – she’s come in, performed well and deserves to keep her place.
“It’ll be another daunting game for Millie, but we have absolutely no worries at all about her coming in and it’s a challenge she’ll embrace.”
A disappointing result but another step in the right direction
The 4-1 defeat against Hibs was a disappointing result against a team the Dons have already beaten this season, but Beith says there were glimpses of how he expects his side to perform.
He believes Aberdeen need to be more consistent if they’re to get results against the top teams in SWPL 1, and the display against Hibs proved that.
Beith said: “Coming away with a 4-1 defeat is disappointing – especially after beating them 1-0 before. We were optimistic going into it, but it wasn’t to be.
“At times we did really well and looked really good in terms of passing and playing the way we wanted to.
“But that can be our downfall, too, because we didn’t always execute it – which caused us problems.
“We’re on the right track and doing the right things, but we just need to do them more consistently.”