Bayley Hutchison last week against Dundee United became the third Aberdeen FC Women player to reach the milestone of 100 appearances for the side. The striker joins Loren Campbell and Eilidh Shore as the only players to have clocked up a century of appearances since AFCW started out in 2019. Hutchison recently looked back over her 100 games.

“To get to a hundred games with Aberdeen is obviously a great thing and not a lot of people can say that. To be in that group along with Loren and Eilidh is great and getting to one hundred as a young player is good. I’ve not really thought about the milestone much though as we’ve obviously had a difficult season and I’ve just been concentrating on finishing it positively.”

Hutchison made her debut in red for Aberdeen Ladies at a young age and the 19-year-old admits that it feels like she has been around for a long time, despite still being in her teens.

“I made my debut for Aberdeen Ladies at fourteen and I scored against Hearts in that game although that’s all I can remember about it. We weren’t in a great position back then as we were in the midst of a relegation battle and we eventually got relegated. We’ve worked our way back up since the club took the team on and it’s good to play in the top league now. I sometimes feel like one of the older ones despite still being a young player because I’ve been around so long.

“We have a lot of good young players and it’s such a good opportunity for young players up here. We don’t have lots of other teams in the area competing for players like they do in Glasgow and Edinburgh. That means young players can stay here and get playing time and we’ll probably have a few players reaching a hundred games before they are twenty.”

As she reflected on her development within the team, Bayley feels like it’s not just the physical aspects of the game that has changed for her. “I think mindset is a big thing that changes as you get older. I still get frustrated at myself at times and that comes with still being a young player. My mindset going into a going is totally different now and I think you develop more of a team view where when you first start, you’re trying to improve and learn for yourself.”

Bayley’s goals and performances have gained her several individual awards over the past few seasons but the striker is keen to share those accolades with the rest of her team.

“It’s always nice to win awards and it looks good for me as a player but I wouldn’t have got those awards or scored any of my goals if it wasn’t for my teammates. Strikers get a lot of the headlines because they score the goals but I think those awards are for the team as a whole rather than the individual that gets them. We won a team of the year award and that was for every player and coach involved in the team and that meant more than the individual awards I’ve won.”

There have been a lot of changes in personnel within the team since the end of last season with Kelly Forrest and Carrie Doig retiring and players like Lauren Gordon, Natasha Bruce and Jo Fraser also leaving. Bayley admits that the departures have changed the dynamics within the squad.

“The likes of Kelly and Carrie were almost like the mums of the team if you like, they looked out for everyone and would make sure they were ok. Then Lauren, Tash and Jo were all big characters in the changing room and it was hard to see them go as it changed the team dynamics a lot. A lot of us have had to step up despite still being young, myself, Eilidh Shore and Fran Ogilvie have had to kind of take some of the younger players that have come up to the squad under our wing a bit. The young players have been brilliant, you could see they were nervous coming in but I think the fact we’ve been in their position a few years ago it makes us closer as a group. When I look back to the first interview I did, it was just awful and I can see how my confidence has changed as a person. It’s vital for women’s football that you are able to get out there and speak about it so it’s something I’ve had to push myself to get better at. I think I have grown in confidence and that is all about the team, not just the players but the coaches and people at the club who help us all to get better and the young players that have just came in this season will find that too.”

Hutchison ended her time in the Scotland national team youth set up with a 94^th minute winner against Kosovo in a 3-2 victory in April of last year. Despite being too old for the under-19s now, Aberdeen’s top scorer hopes she will get back on the international stage in the future.

“Playing for Scotland, no matter what age group you are with, is amazing. Getting to pull on a Scotland shirt and stand on the pitch and sing the national anthem is a proud moment. In terms of ambitions in football, you can’t get bigger than playing for your country. It was great to leave them on a high but there is a big gap between finishing with the nineteens and the first team squad. It would be nice to one day get a call-up to the full national team but that’s something I need to keep working towards.”

It’s not just on-field accolades that Hutchison is working towards as she combines university studies with her work with the Dons. The striker is focussed on her studies but isn’t distracted from trying to help Aberdeen FCW from improving. “I’m at university so I still have two years to go there. It’s important to have a back-up plan as there isn’t the money in the women’s game that there is in the men’s, so having something to fall back on is important. My focus is on that and Aberdeen and to keep improving as much as I can to help my team.”