Everyone who watches a football match, be it on television, in the stadium, or anywhere else, often has the desire to try to play in the football match he is watching. But it is not easy to do. Sarah Crilly is one of many people who can do just that. In a football match, there is often a considerable distance between the players and coaches who are on the field, and the audience watching the match. The distance is even more pronounced when the audience watches from other media such as television or listens to broadcasts from the radio. It’s still better to watch from the stadium, because the screams from the stands can still be heard towards the bench and the field.
But still, even from the television or even from the stadium, there is a gap that lies between the audience and the actors playing on the field. The audience, although often called the 12th player, will still find it difficult to change the course of the match because they do not take part on the field. It’s like watching a soap opera on television. It will be difficult for us to change the storyline of the soap opera because we do not take part in being the actors in it.
However, it is different with Sarah Crilly, a woman from Scotland. From the stands, he was able to determine how the Scottish national team match went when they had a match against Norway on August 30, 2012. Why did that happen? Because he took part to be a player in it.
Sarah Crilly is an ordinary woman from Lanark, Scotland. However, he has a big enough love for football. This also made him take football more seriously, by being part of the Hamilton Academical youth team as a teenager. She continued to study there, until finally breaking into Hamilton’s first team and becoming Player of the Month in SPWL (Scottish Women’s Premier League) in September 2012.
Sarah Crilly’s great achievements also made her continue to advance and develop her career wings in the world of women’s professional football in Scotland. From 2013 to 2016, he was part of the Glasgow City club. In Glasgow, she won quite a number of titles, such as the Scottish Women’s Premier League title, the League Cup title, and the Scottish Women’s FA Cup.
But there is one moment that will probably make an impression on Sarah Crilly in her career as a professional footballer. This happened on August 30, 2012, when the Scottish national team faced the Norwegian national team in a test match at East End Park, Dunfermline. From the stands, Crilly can change the course of the game.
Crilly, who was 20 years old at the time, and was already part of the Scotland women’s U17 and U19 national teams and often trained with the senior national team, was invited to watch the test match between Scotland and Norway at East End Park. The match also went well for the Scottish national team, and until approximately the 60th minute, Scotland were still winning 1-0 over Norway through a goal from Emma Mitchell in the 13th minute.
But the unfortunate incident experienced by Scotland. Two of their players at that time had to be withdrawn due to injury, and their coach, Anna Signeul had to make a substitution, leaving a defender and two goalkeepers on the bench. Therefore, when Signeul was about to make his third substitution, he also did something quite interesting: he called Crilly, who was watching, to come down to the field and compete.
With a jersey, socks and loose shoes, Crilly finally entered the field in the 62nd minute, making his debut for the Scottish women’s national team from the stands. Things took a turn for the worse when he came on, with Norway turning things around with two goals from Isabell Harlovsen in the 70th and 75th minutes.
But the situation returned to a draw in the 85th minute. It was Sarah Crilly who scored the equaliser, netting her debut goal for the Scotland national team, in her debut appearance starting from the stands. Crilly also recounted the experience.
“They asked me to come to the game and watch from the stands. I also came to the stadium and watched with my friends. At that moment I remember I was waiting for the tea I ordered, before finally someone came from the bench and asked if I brought shoes or not,” Crilly recalled as reported by Bleacher Report.
“I also said that I did not bring shoes, then the person took me to the locker room, put me shoes, jersey and socks that were too big. I even wore three socks at that time. I felt my appearance was quite embarrassing,” she added. No, Crllly, that wasn’t embarrassing at all. In fact it is one of the interesting experiences that you will probably remember during your football career.
Changing the course of the game, by not being involved in the match itself is something that can be said to be quite difficult to do. But Crilly managed to do it. From the stands, he made his debut for the national team, as well as scoring his first goal for the national team that saved Scotland from defeat.
Sometimes a desire like this, may only happen on television programs that are in the form of reality shows, involving ordinary people in the storyline offered on a television. But for Crilly, this was the real thing, and she might make some of the same-minded viewers become a little jealous of her.
ASL
