Aberdeen Women defender and lifelong Dons fan Donna Paterson was happy to be on the receiving end of fan chants as she made her Pittodrie debut.
Paterson was named in the starting XI and played the full 90 minutes as the women’s team made their bow at Pittodrie against Rangers on Wednesday night.
And while it ended in a 2-0 defeat, it was a positive experience for the defender and her teammates.
The occasion meant even more to Paterson, as she graced the pitch that she grew up visiting as an Aberdeen fan.
But this time she was not the one shouting the ‘Come on you Reds’ chants – they were directed at her.
She said: “I think there was even a ‘Barmy Army’ chant.
“And when you’re normally shouting that on a Saturday, rather than the one being shouted at it – it was great.
“The fans did their job.”
With almost 2,000 fans in Pittodrie, Paterson hopes that some of those fans will now start coming to watch the Dons at Balmoral Stadium – their usual home turf.
“There were people at Pittodrie who have probably thought ‘I’d never watch a women’s game of football’,” Paterson added.
“But now they have, and hopefully they enjoyed it and will come and support us at Balmoral, it’s all about trying to get more fans up there.
“Hopefully they can see that women’s football is on the up and it’s actually a decent game to watch.
“It’s all about growing the game.”
A team not fazed by the occasion
Aberdeen would have been forgiven if the occasion had got to them, but they looked resilient and disciplined – and had to be against a tough Rangers side.
The 2-0 scoreline is an improvement on the two side’s last meeting, with the Dons being on the receiving end of an 8-0 defeat back in October.
And Paterson reckons the game being played at Pittodrie helped boost the performance this time round, rather than hinder it.
She added: “I think the occasion helped us.
“It can go two ways, you either come out fighting or shy away.
“We’ve played Rangers before, and that last result was a bit of a doing.
“So to come out and to put that right, we wanted to do that.
“The occasion was a bonus – it definitely spurred us on.”
