ON THE ROAD: As City and Hibs mark 500-match milestone, women's game has so much to celebrate… and so much more still to achieve

On a clear day in Springburn, one can’t quite see forever — but it is possible to gauge how far Scottish women’s football has come.

Its progress can be measured in so many ways and, indeed, much of it is captured live on television. As the BBC arranged its cameras and crowds drifted into Petershill Park, it was an ideal opportunity to capture the moment.

This was the 500th league match for City. Hibs have racked up the same number. The SWPL Premier League title lies in the balance between four clubs — City, Hibs, Celtic and Rangers.

Women’s football in Scotland has come a long way. It has a long way to go. But it is worth celebrating the former.

‘I suppose I have been here from the year dot — 1998,’ says Carol Anne Stuart, commercial manager and joint founder of City. ‘I had been involved with football for many years before Laura (Montgomery) and I joined up to form City.’

Sixteen league titles and several dramatic Champions League forays later, Stuart bustles about the ground two hours before kick-off and says the catalyst for her was ‘frustration’ felt at the state of women’s football at the time.

Hibs players go wild as Kirsty Morrison’s late winner gives them a huge three points

Glasgow City’s Nicole Kozlova comes under pressure from two visiting midfielders

This sentiment has not fully disappeared despite the success of City. ‘The thing I have learned since the formation is that things do not move as quickly as you like them to. There have been so many things that we have tried to do over the 25 years that we have not managed to do.

‘So many people tell us we have done so much for women’s football — and we probably have — but we get frustrated because we don’t have a stadium yet and there is not a lot of equity across our game in terms of salaries and how we are treated. That is still a bit of a battle generally.

‘But we have dragged people along with us, including the SFA, so we do have a lot to be proud of.’

City — with 200 girls in their academy — have prospered as a standalone club with no backing from an established men’s operation.

‘Over the years, we have had conversations with professional men’s clubs,’ says Stuart. ‘We have talked to all the top clubs, with the exception of Celtic, but the offers on the table did not attract us. We want to have everything in our control so we can achieve our aims.’

She has many memories. ‘The most surreal moment was sitting in the directors’ box at PSG when we played them in the Champions League,’ says Stuart.

But she is more focused on the future. ‘There is lots to do. We want to build the club as a bookmark in Glasgow as a city. We want to build our fan base.’  

Fiona McIntyre does not just reflect on the journey. She has walked it.

Now managing director of the SWPL, McIntyre, 41, was once a wee girl who trained every week and longed for a competitive game.

‘I was brought up in Ardrossan and the nearest team was in Largs,’ she says. ‘I was eight and I trained every week but I had to wait until I was 12 for regular competitive football at the weekend. Now girls can play every week if they want to.

‘When I played for Aberdeen in the Premier League, it didn’t feel different to being an amateur. It was all poor pitches and hand-me-down kits. Now there are good stadiums, sponsors, people coming to games.’

She is aware that her daughters, nine and six years old, have walked into a new football world for women. Glasgow City have been central in leading that.

‘We must remember that it is Hibs’ 500th game too but what City have contributed to Scottish football is so unique and unprecedented,’ McIntyre (below) continues. ‘The fact that they are a standalone women’s club makes them special because they were the drivers for such a long time. They drove women’s football and drove standards.

‘Women’s football is at the heart of everything they do. They care about issues beyond football. They drive for equality and opportunity.’

This year sees the first league split in the SWPL… and one of Europe’s tightest title races

Of the wider ambitions for women’s football in Scotland, McIntyre says: ‘A big part of our focus is about visibility. We want to change perceptions of women’s football. It was once that you had to be a bit of a tomboy to be a footballer but women’s footballers come in all shapes and sizes. You can be yourself as a women’s footballer.’

The split will encourage interest as it coincides with what is being described as the most competitive title race in Europe. ‘It’s 10 cup finals for the teams in the top six,’ says McIntyre. City lost the first one. A tense contest was settled by a scrambled finish. It was the last moment of the match.

Asked for one wish for women’s football, she says: ‘Better facilities, bespoke ones for women’s football. I would love a specific stadium in the north, south, east and west of the country. Clubs are quite nomadic and that doesn’t help grow a crowd. You need a focal point.’

It is not just the club that has paid its dues, but the past players too. City invited all former players to their 500th match and Kirstin Abercrombie spoke with a smile of times past. ‘I was in the first City team in 1998,’ she says. ‘I was joking with some players in that first side that we should send City an invoice. We paid dues to play then.’

Abercrombie, a social worker, was recruited after playing football at university and played for three seasons before injury ended her career.

A centre-half, she was player of the year in her first season, not surprising given the team only conceded two goals in the entire campaign. ‘Those were great days,’ she says. ‘Great days. I would just like City to get a new stadium to allow the club to grow further.’

Glasgow City players huddle up before kick-off at Petershill Park

The memories for Karen McPhee span a quarter of a century. ‘I came to live in north Glasgow in 2000 and immediately looked for a team to support,’ she says, her orange and black colours declaring her allegiance.

‘My best memory was Sue Lappin heading in,’ she says of the Champions League play-off against Zurich in 2014 that City won 4-2 to progress to play against PSG in the knockouts.

‘But I have had so many good times. The fact that we win a lot is a nice thing.’

One moment at pitchside has stuck with her. ‘Once when we won the league, Nicola Docherty, now with Rangers, came over to the side of the pitch to have her photo taken with a young girl fan. Nic then put her medal around the young girl’s neck, saying: “Keep it”.’

Thus one of Docherty’s eight championship-winning medals is a prized possession for a young lass somewhere.

McPhee is bullish about the future. ‘The success is no surprise to me,’ she says. ‘I don’t want to be sexist but when you have women in charge you tend to flourish.’

Hibs players celebrate after opening up a two-point lead at the top of the table

Her love for women’s football is enhanced by the atmosphere at the grounds. ‘There is none of this tribal nonsense that you find at men’s football,’ she says.

Her dad, Donald McKellar, is at the match. He is a Rangers supporter and finds reason to smile later in the afternoon despite the City defeat.

A supporter walks past and observes: ‘This is the biggest match in Scotland today.’

Not quite, perhaps. But it is one that has a historic significance far beyond the combined 1000 games.