Aberdeen Women have three players out on loan this season, with two getting minutes in SWPL 2 and the other in the SWF Championship. But how are they getting on?
Hannah Innes is out at SWF Championship outfit Dryburgh Athletic, while Brodie Greenwood and Eirinn McCafferty are turning out for St Johnstone in SWPL 2.
Dons interim coach Gavin Levey spoke to the Press and Journal to explain why the three players were sent out on loan, and to detail the progress he feels the trio have made so far.
Hannah Innes
Innes, 21, is a product of Aberdeen’s youth pathway and was sent out on loan in November when former co-managers Emma Hunter and Gavin Beith were still in post.
The midfielder had not played for the Dons this season, but is getting plenty game time at Dryburgh, having made eight appearances in the SWF Championship (and playing 90 minutes in all but one game).
Innes has scored one goal so far and has impressed with her performances, as she was named the player of the match in the SWF Championship and League One Cup final, despite being on the losing team.
She was also named in the SWF Championship team of the month for February.
Levey has been impressed with Innes during her spell in Dundee thus far, and highlighted her commitment, as the midfielder trains with Dryburgh as well as still attending Aberdeen sessions.
“Hannah is somebody who wants to train whenever possible,” Levey said. “The only time I don’t see Hannah is on a match-day because she’s playing with Dryburgh.
“Hannah’s getting valuable game time down there and she’s enjoying it. She’s picked up a couple of player of the match awards as well, which is important.
“She’s made that commitment to travel to Dundee to go and play and that’s gone well.”
Brodie Greenwood
Like Innes, Greenwood made her Aberdeen Women debut having progressed from the club’s youth pathway.
The 16-year-old midfielder made her first appearance for the Dons first team on the opening day of the SWPL 1 season against Hamilton Accies.
She played once more for the Dons in the top flight, and once in both the SWPL Cup and Scottish Cup, before her loan move to St Johnstone in January.
The midfielder was sent out on loan, Levey says, to be exposed to senior football, as the young Don is still in the very early stages of her development at adult level.
Greenwood, who is the Scotland Under-17s captain and a performance player at Hazlehead Academy, has gained valuable minutes for Saints.
As of March 15, she had played five games in SWPL 2 – starting and playing the full match three times.
“Brodie’s loan made total sense,” Levey said. “She’s a JD Performance School player and featured a couple times for us here at Aberdeen.
“She’s beyond playing under-18s and needed to go find somewhere – in her own words – where she’d be ‘knocked about a bit’ and compete physically amongst senior football.
“Brodie is a real talent – technically and her idea of the game is exceptional.
“Mark Nisbet (the manager) at St Johnstone is someone I know well and he made a really productive approach about Brodie and it was one myself, Brodie and her family felt was right.”
Eirinn McCafferty
McCafferty, 22, who previously turned out for Forfar Farmington, Dundee United and Montrose, was a rare external signing for the Dons in the summer, as the defender made the move to the north-east following the completion of her degree in the United States.
Before going out on loan to St Johnstone in January, McCaffery made five SWPL 1 appearances for Aberdeen, with all but one coming from the substitutes bench.
She has gone on to make – as of March 15 – four appearances in the second-tier, starting in three matches where she played on either side of defence, as well as being used on the right wing against Stirling University.
Levey believes McCafferty’s loan spell in Perth will help improve her match fitness, which should put her in contention at Aberdeen upon her return.
“Eirinn played with a scholarship in America which she’s completed, so came back to play in Scotland, but she just needs to get her match fitness up,” Levey said.
“There’s a real player in Eirinn – that’s for sure – but it’s about going out and getting the game time. We had an honest conversation with her about it.
“To get her fitness up, she needed to play and she probably wasn’t going to get the chance to maximise that opportunity here at Aberdeen.
“The loan has given her the best chance to come back and really show us what she’s capable of.”
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