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NEW SIGNING GRANT REVELS IN DOUBLE FIGURE DEBUT
It was a dream start for new Well striker Suzanne Grant on Sunday as she netted 11 goals in her first appearance in Claret and Amber. It didn’t take Grant long to get off the mark either, just 3 minutes in and the strikers tally at Motherwell had begun! A barrage of attacks on goal then followed, proving too difficult for Edinburgh South keeper to stop. After scoring nearly four triple hatricks over the 90 minutes Grant bashfully stated after the match, “I would have been happy with a single goal.”
Edinburgh South 0 Motherwell Ladies 21
I spoke with Grant after the game:
11 goals in your debut, you’ve set the bar high! What did you think of the game today?
Yeah, I still can’t believe I scored that many, I was really nervous before the game and I would have just been happy getting 3 points and 90 minutes under my belt, so scoring was a bonus. There were a lot of first team players missing but as a team, scoring 2 more goals in total than in the previous meeting I believe, shows just how much quality and strength there is throughout this squad.
You clearly settled in well, what do you think worked well as a team on Sunday?
The team made me feel so welcome and I think the formation was great on Sunday, it really suited how Motherwell play. The squad played really well, experienced players and the young players who stepped up combined, created an excellent team performance.
The team goes forward into Sunday’s Scottish cup game with great confidence, but against a tough team, Glasgow Girls. What do Motherwell need to do to progress into the next round?
Yeah the team is full of confidence from Sundays game and getting so many goals I just think we need to play how we played Sunday and the rest will speak for itself. We just need to work hard on and off the ball and get into the next round. I’m really looking forward to it.
I had the opportunity to speak further with Suzanne and delve a little deeper to find out more about the girl behind all those goals.
![Alise](http://motherwellfc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/InFocusSuzanneI.jpg)
Full name; Suzanne Louise Grant
Nickname(s); Granti
D.O.B; 17.04.84
Preferred position; Striker
What age did you start playing football? 15
All previous clubs (and dates if poss); Ross county from 1999-2004
Glasgow city 2004-2006
Hibernian 2006-2009
Arsenal ladies 2009
Celtic ladies 2009-2015
International duty: 2000-2015 representing at all age groups
What team do you support; My local team back home, Grantown United
Best personal sporting memory; Reaching 100 international caps
We are all very excited to have you at the club Suzanne, what made you make the move to Motherwell Ladies?
I spoke to the club a few times and I think Motherwell are an ambitious club and the set up is exceptional. I missed playing football when I decided to retire and Motherwell seemed the right club to support me coming back and are a key club who want to progress in women’s football.
You have played many years of top level football in both Scotland and England Suzanne, including a highly contested Scottish Schools cup final back in 2000 when our 2 schools met! Penalties decided the game and unfortunately for me, broke a few hearts! 😉 In the last 15 years since then, your footballing career has seen you play for club and country all over the world, what is it that continues to motivate you to train and play?
The love of the game continues to motivate me to train and play, I love the sport and travelling the world and playing at the level I did was a bonus.
You have vast experience playing for Scotland, how many Caps do you have?
I have 105 caps for Scotland and when I first started playing I could never have imagined getting 1 so having 105 is surreal so I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to play for my country that many times.
What is it like to represent your country?
There is no better feeling than pulling on the Scottish jersey! It makes all the hard work and sacrifices worth while.
What’s your best international memory?
I scored on my 100th cap against the world champions USA, it was a great memory that will stay with me forever.
You took a wee break recently and have become a Mum! Congratulations! How have you found it getting back to full fitness?
Thanks I played full contact for 3 months, trained for 7 months pregnant and came back 5 weeks after having my son. It was harder than I first thought but it was worth it and I’m still getting my fitness back, I am getting old now too so my body doesn’t recover the same. I wanted my son to be proud of me and wanted to continue to play. I decided to retire as I couldn’t commit as much as I would’ve liked and wanted to spend time with my fiancé and my son as a family and embracing being a mother. But now I have done that and now I have a good balance of football and family time and Motherwell are so understanding of this which makes it easier for me and my family.
Well fans are certainly glad you didn’t retire! Particularly after Sunday’s performance!
I didn’t play for 8 months and I didn’t kick a ball at all. I did enjoy the break and just spending all my spare time with my family but Aberdeen Ladies FC asked me to play 3 games and tried to talk me out of retirement and it gave me the buzz back! I have totally missed kicking the ball and so am very grateful to Motherwell for giving me this opportunity to get back playing the game I love.
It must be difficult to juggle being a Mum and commit to training and games?
Yeah, it is hard especially at the Start as I was learning to be a mother for the first time, studying full time and training all the time. It did get a bit much and I think I was doing too much then that’s when I decided to take time out. I know I have the right balance and support from Motherwell to train and have time for my family. Oscar will be there on game days to cheer me on, that’s important to me and hopefully I make him proud.
As a striker, a lot of responsibility to win games falls on your shoulders. Now you have scored many goals for club and country over the years. For all the aspiring young strikers out there, what is your philosophy in front of goal?
I just think as a striker if you miss, which I do a lot, you have to put it to bed and believe the next one will go in. A lot of players concentrate on the chance they had or should’ve scored, I believe in wanting the ball and making another chance and I think that’s why I’ve scored as I don’t let the chances I miss affect me. If I did I would’ve retired years ago hahaha!
Scoring goals is most young footballers dream! Can you describe the most memorable goal you have ever scored?
As I mentioned earlier it has to be my goal against USA. It was my 100th cap and was not a bad finish, that was definitely the most memorable goal for me.
You have recently played at Celtic in the premier league, a quality side who consistently finished in Scotland’s top 4 best teams. This is a completely new league for you, which opponent do you look forward to playing the most and why? …or is there no-one you fear?
I don’t really concentrate on opponents as lot of teams/players do. I believe in concentrating on yourself as an individual and as a team you go out on the day, play your best and the rest should speak for itself. I fear no team as I just concentrate on what I have to do as a player and for the team.
So normally I wouldn’t expect a new signing to know too much goss on their team mates, but I believe you have played alongside and against a lot of our current squad in previous years! A lot of the Well fans out there have been asking me to tell them some team secrets…can you let me into a wee secret no one knows about one (or a few!) of your new team mates?
Yeah I played with a lot of the girls when I was at Hibs Ladies and Scotland and there are loads of funny stories (trust me!) …but seeing as I’m the new girl I best keep them to myself…at least for the moment 😉 Maybe if I get another interview in a few months the secrets may be told lol (Stacey and Mandy beware hahaha)
There seems to be a lot of folk who have stories to tell about our Staceo and Mandy! I will definitely be back to you in a few months so you can share all the chat with our fans! 😉
Thanks for giving us an insight into your fantastic career to date, I’m sure you will make many more memories and hopefully add some more trophies to your cabinet during your time here at Motherwell! All the best for the second half of the season Granti!
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