Women’s Football Reaction To Tam Cowan

Hibernian ladies head coach Willie Kirk feels that it was unfair expectations which led Tam Cowan to write his controversial column.

Speaking an hour after his side conceded the league title to Glasgow City, the 34-year old coach was more than just disappointed with the result after Cowan’s words shone an unwelcomed light on the female side of the sport.

Kirk, who has coached the ladies team at Easter Road for 18 months, believed that the Daily Record columnist was naively expecting the match to compare to men’s football.

“He obviously doesn’t know anything about the game,” Kirk stated. “I don’t know what he was expecting.

“You don’t go to a women’s tennis match and expect the women to serve the ball with the same velocity as Novak Djokovic. You don’t go to a golf match and expect to see some of the girls belt the ball as far as Tiger Woods. Women’s football is a different game; it’s the same sport, same rules, but it’s a completely different game.

“I’ve invited friends to a lot of the matches and each one of them has stated that they didn’t expect to be entertained in the way they were.”

The ridiculing statements arrived just over 24 hours before the league championship encounter between Hibs and Glasgow City, with the latter needing a point to claim the title. The game represented the pinnacle of a hard league season for the players who give up a considerable amount to play the game they love.

“The sad thing is that people don’t take into account the sacrifices that a lot of these girls make,” Kirk added. “They don’t know the commitment that goes into being a female football player. Some of my girls are taking 10 or 11 sessions a week, starting at 7.30 in the morning. Then there’s all the travelling to and from games and to matches around the world.

 “A couple of footballers are paid at the bigger clubs, but generally it’s amateur. In fact, many pay a monthly subscription of £35 because they love playing it.”