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Avoch footballer Rachel McLauchlan speaks about the biggest game of her life as Glasgow City prepare to face Wolfsburg in the Champions League quarter finals tonight


By Andrew Henderson

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Not many football players can say that they have played in a Champions League quarter final, much less one from the Highlands.

Rachel McLauchlan (right) celebrates winning the Scottish Cup after a 4-3 win over her former club, Hibernian. Picture: Tommy Hughes
Rachel McLauchlan (right) celebrates winning the Scottish Cup after a 4-3 win over her former club, Hibernian. Picture: Tommy Hughes

That is exactly the achievement that Rachel McLauchlan is hoping to claim tonight, as Glasgow City take on Wolfsburg in the last eight of Europe’s premier competition.

It has not been an easy ride for the 23-year-old, originally from Avoch, especially over the last year or so.

At the start of 2019, McLauchlan signed for Yeovil Town Ladies in England’s Women’s Super League, only for the club to go into administration two months later.

Yeovil, who would rebrand from Ladies to Women as part of the process to save the club, would be relegated from the top tier to the third.

McLauchlan meanwhile left the club, and was approached by Glasgow City, who were bidding for their 13th league title in a row.

It would be the number two’s first league title, having been thwarted by City in her time at Hibernian, and she added a Scottish Cup winners’ medal to her collection too.

On the continent, City were making even more history.

Brondby were dispatched in the Champions League round of 16 on penalties, but McLauchlan would never have expected that it would be 10 months before the next round of the competition would take place.

“It has been pretty crazy,” she reflected.

“The last game I played was the Scottish Cup final at the start of November.

“We’ve had a couple of friendlies now, but getting back into the swing of things has been pretty crazy.

“I was injured at the start of the year, but I was going to the friendlies and then a few days before lockdown actually got put in place, football got stopped.

“I went home, but I didn’t realise how severe it was. In my head I was going home for a couple of weeks, and I was there for a few months.

“We had a good, successful year at Glasgow City and then everything stopped. Now we’re right back into the swing of things, knowing that we’ve got the Champions League game coming up.”

Rachel McLauchlan shifts the ball on to her right foot in a 9-0 win for Glasgow City over Motherwell at the end of last season. Picture: Tommy Hughes
Rachel McLauchlan shifts the ball on to her right foot in a 9-0 win for Glasgow City over Motherwell at the end of last season. Picture: Tommy Hughes

City are the only women’s team currently in full training, thanks to a donation from James Anderson to allow them to continue their push for the Champions League.

They have been in full training for a month, but during the enforced break they have been serious making moves to give themselves the best chance of progressing.

City’s resources cannot compare to the European giants they are up against, but they have brought in the likes of South Africa captain Janine Van Wyk, Zaneta Wyne and striker Krystyna Freda, who scored 245 goals in her last three seasons playing in Cyprus.

“You have to go into a game thinking you can win,” McLauchlan insisted.

“It’s a one-off game, it’s only one leg now, not even two, so anything can happen in a game of football.

“Obviously Wolfsburg are a very tough team to play, they’re very well organised and they have done well in their season, so it will be a really tough game, but hopefully we can get something from it.

“We had Brondby in the last round, and that was a tough game that went down to penalties – it was really close.

“Even that game was quite a highlight, because it seemed like such an achievement to get through into this quarter final.

“Wee Glasgow City were in there with the names like Wolfsburg, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

“There’s something special in that, but now we’ve got to this stage you always want to go and do better.”

Rachel McLauchlan (left) is all smiles as she steps on to the pitch for the 2019 Scottish Cup final between Glasgow City and Hibernian at Tynecastle. Picture: Tommy Hughes
Rachel McLauchlan (left) is all smiles as she steps on to the pitch for the 2019 Scottish Cup final between Glasgow City and Hibernian at Tynecastle. Picture: Tommy Hughes

When McLauchlan made her senior debut for Inverness City, just making it to the round of 16 was a huge achievement for Glasgow City.

Seven years – and seven Scotland caps – later, she will be hoping to move two games away from calling herself a Champions League winner tonight.

For someone who tries not to get too far ahead of herself, spending time back in Avoch over the last few months has instead given her a chance to reflect on her journey so far – and what is still to come.

“Never would I have thought I would be playing in the Champions League back then,” she admitted.

“At the time I just played as a wee kid and enjoyed the game, and you just have to see where it takes you.

“When I think way back, it has been pretty crazy, and I’ve been pretty lucky to have the football career that I’ve had coming from such a small place.

“It’s going well just now, so hopefully it continues that way.”

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