Scotland Schoolgirls end seven-year wait for Bob Doc trophy

Scotland Schoolgirls U15s won the Bob Docherty Trophy for the first time in seven years on Friday after defeating England 2-1 in the final game of the competition.

The Scots were hosts for the first time since that famous victory in 2016. On this occasion the fantastic facilities at Parklea in Port Glasgow, were centre stage for the prestigious event.

This year’s tournament was a round-robin affair, which saw Scotland play Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and England on their way to victory in the competition.

Their campaign began against the Republic of Ireland. Scotland started the better of the two sides but went in level at the break.

Their lack of clinical edge was punished as Ireland came out in the second half strong a took the lead on 52 minutes.

Scotland pressed and it took until two minutes into added time before Scotland got an equaliser when Sharkey fired the ball into the roof of the net from 12 yards out.

This earned Scotland the chance of taking a bonus point from the match on penalties and they duly delivered, winning the shootout 3-2 with a great stop from Alex Reid in the Scotland goal in the process.

Scotland were hoping to take momentum from the shootout victory when they took on Northern Ireland a day later. They did exactly that through Jessica Husband, who opened the scoring for Scotland with only one minute on the clock.

Scotland had dominated possession throughout the opening stages, and they added to their lead midway through the first half as Husband got her second from the penalty spot. Scotland played well the rest of the first half and kept the two-goal lead at the break.

Northern Ireland came out in the second half and immediately put pressure on the Scots however, the pressure was dealt with well. Scotland almost got a third from a free kick but a good save from the Northern Ireland keeper denied Husband’s effort.

As the second half went on, Scotland had to deal with pressure, but they did. A professional second half performance saw Scotland see out the game at 2-0.

The victory against Northern Ireland set up a winner takes all scenario against the Auld Enemy in England where the winner would take home the Bob Docherty trophy.

It proved to be a tense affair, understandably given what was the prize for both teams but Scotland were able to come out victorious with goals from Husband and Freya Brien to make sure the trophy came back to Scottish soil for the first time in seven years.

After lifting the trophy Captain Erin Husband told the SSFA media team: “We played so well today and I’m happy for all the team.”

Winning goalscorer, Jessica Husband added: “It felt so good to have all my teammates around me and supporting me.”

Congratulations to the Scottish Schoolgirls U15s on their success and we look forward to following the journeys of this talented group of players.