And we’re back! The SWF League One season kicks off this weekend, or should we say the Barclays SWF League One season. Last week the SWF announced a record investment sponsorship deal with financial giants Barclays which see’s a rebrand of the Championship and League One divisions. As a member club, we welcome this news and can’t wait to work alongside the SWF and Barclays, assisting where we can to contribute to the growth of the women’s game in Scotland.

Aimee Todd | Sportpix

Our opening Barclays SWF League One fixture see’s us welcome Queen of The South to Poltonhall on Sunday. Queens have recently announced that they’ve retained the majority of their squad from last season, as well as the addition of a few new faces. The gaffer and Chelsea have both mentioned in interviews this week that although we got the better of the side from Dumfries on both occasions last season, we had to work very hard for the wins against a very good side and this weekend will be no different.

Head Coach Jamie Carter said this week “We got the better of them (Queen of The South) twice last season but we’re under no illusions, this will be a very hard game. They’re a very good side with very good players”.

We travelled to Dumfries on match day two last season where we earned an extremely hard fought 2-0 win. Goals from Saffron & Eilidh secured the points in a match that was overshadowed by the serious injury to our number one, Erin, who sadly remains sidelined today as a result. The gloves were taken by Ruth who went in goal for over an hour and with the help of a battling team performance, managed to keep a clean sheet.

Queens made the trip up to Midlothian in the latter stages of the season with both sides knowing three points would be essential in securing a top half finish going into the league split. It was another tight match with Saffron giving us an early lead, only to be pegged back by the league’s top scorer Holly Ovens early into the second half. With the match three minutes into added on time, just as it looked like both sides would have to settle for a point, Chelsea rose highest from a corner to head the ball into the roof of the net which sparked jubilant scenes. Straight from kick off, Rose won the ball back and despite shouts of “take it in the corner”, Saffron found herself one on one with the Queens keeper and she kept her composure to finish and make it 3-1 and put the game to bed. A crazy end to an otherwise quiet game which saw us take all three points in dramatic style.

While Rose finished 4th last season, Queens weren’t too far behind in 6th. Both sides will be looking to get off to a positive start this time around and we’d love to see a big crowd at Poltonhall to cheer on the girls. Kick off at Poltonhall on Sunday is 1:30pm. The referee for the match is Stephen Mainds. As always all supporters are welcome along free of charge. Poltonhall is an all standing ground, if any disabled supporters or supporters that have difficulties standing for long periods of time are coming along to the game, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via email at bonnyriggroseladies@gmail.com, DM us on socials or speak to a player/official directly and we can arrange seating for you on the day.

We go into the opening game off the back of a 6-0 win against SWF Championship side Hutchison Vale in our final pre season match last weekend. An incredible start saw us race into a 5-0 lead inside the first 15 minutes with goals from Ellie, Charlotte, Gabby, Bex, Saffron with a second half strike from Niamh rounding off the scoring.

We’d like to say a big thanks to our match ball sponsor for the season, Bonnyrigg Rose Supporters Club. Be sure to check out the clubs socials throughout the season for travel information for away games and also for details on how to become a member.

We’d also like to thank today’s match sponsor, Bonnyrigg Spice. Located at 55 High Street, Bonnyrigg Spice offer a wide variety of classic Indian dishes so let them do the cooking and order here

We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Poltonhall and we also hope to see some new faces this season as our crowds continue to grow. Your support is very much appreciated by everyone at the club.

Mon the Rose!