Grampian Ladies finished sixth in their first full season in Championship North, and captain Lauren Boylan reckons the club are in a good place to progress.
It was Grampian’s first full season in the league, having only been founded in 2020, Covid-19 curtailed their first attempt of competitive football.
The Aberdeen side rounded off this Championship North campaign with a 13-0 win against Dundee City West, which was their sixth win of the season.
That victory succeeded a 6-1 win against north rivals Buchan, and the Grampian skipper is delighted they’ve been able to end the season on a high.
She said: “The last two games were exactly what we needed – confidence was high and the goals were flowing.
“We’ve just kind of found form over the last couple of games before the season ended so it’s something to work on.”
But Boylan, who missed part of of the season after giving birth to her son, admits that this term on the whole has been a tough learning experience.
However, the captain is convinced the foundations are now in place for the club to move in the right direction on the pitch.
“It’s been a long hard season. We’ve had ups and downs; some results have been really good,” she added.
“We’ve had a few good results and done well against some of the top teams like Montrose and East Fife, but we’ve just never had that consistent end product.
“We found our feet at the end of the season, so we’ve got the foundations to start building so I’m sure we’ll be looking to progress on that next year.”
A promising future thanks to talented youngsters
Grampian boast a full player pathway which they have often relied on this season, with several players from the under-18’s turning out for the senior team when needed.
Under-18 squad players Courtney Shirran, Kelsey Seivwright, and Kayla Cruickshank were all on the scoresheet in the 13-0 win on the final day of the season.
Boylan coaches the U18s alongside Grampian vice-captain Kirsty McBain, and getting the youngsters involved this term has been a personal highlight.
“There’s a lot of youngsters coming through who are definitely more than ready for women’s football,” the skipper said.
“Being able to play alongside them and see how well they’re doing, it’s really good.
“It shows that in the next few years Grampian are going to be a very very good team.”
