European task awaits Perthshire football ladies

Jun 17 2011 Perthshire Advertiser Friday

PERTHSHIRE football stars are helping a Scottish team rise through the ranks – and now they are gunning for Champions League glory.

Perth-born Laura Williamson and Lisa Evans, along with former St Johnstone Girls players Lauren McMurchie and Emma Mitchell, are part of the successful Glasgow City women’s football side.

The Scottish champions have been ranked as a number one seed in the upcoming Uefa Women’s Champions League qualification round draw.

It is the sides’ fourth entry in a row to the draw.

And excellent results over the past three qualifying rounds have now given them the highest ranking.

In 2008 they were ranked as the bottom seed but have progressed to top seed just three years later. That could see them take on the league’s regular big hitters.

The draw takes place on Thursday.

There are 32 clubs in the qualifying round competing in eight groups of four teams.

The winners of each group and the two best runners-up progress through to the last 32 knockout stages.

Glasgow City’s possible destinations are Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Finland, Macedonia and Cyprus as City aim to become the first Scottish team ever to make the knockout stages of European competition.