Arriving in the middle of July, Jake Girdwood-Reich landed in Scotland without a pre-season. But with Alfred Johansson’s squad looking depleted due to injuries and having the not-so-small task of dealing with UEFA Conference League ties, there was very little option but to fast-track Girdwood-Reich into the side that faced Havnar Boltfelag.
Now in October, the defender has already played 13 games for the Steelmen, and having gained his match fitness and sharpness by playing games, the Aussie centre-back is pleased with the progress he has made in his early days in ML1.
“When I got here, there were only a few days before I had to play my first competitive game,” he recalled.
“The games have come thick and fast for me, but I think it was probably the best way for me to get into the side. But it was definitely the best way for me to get into the side. You don’t expect to get thrown into a competitive match straight away, but I thought I handled it quite well. I managed to stay in good shape during the summer, so I was just pleased to be trusted from the start.
“I’ve seen now how physical this league is. I like getting into those battles, so I think it suits me quite well. But also with the style of play we have, it suits me because I like to be on the ball and facing forward. I’ve played in a possession-based team before, but it wasn’t quite like how we play. I think our style is by far my favourite that I’ve had in my career so far. But I’m still learning what the manager wants from me, and I just aim to improve every day.
“But overall, I’ve loved my time in Scotland so far. It is far away from home, but I’ve got family here, so there’s that home feeling here too. I’ve always wanted to play overseas, and hopefully I can thrive here. But that comes down to me and doing all the right things. The easiness of settling in has helped. I have an auntie who stays in Falkirk, and I’ve been able to see her a lot. I have cousins who are in Glasgow who I haven’t actually seen in my life prior to coming here. But my auntie has been looking after me, so it’s nice to have someone close and support me if I need it.”
Born in Australia, Girdwood-Reich played junior football in Sydney but also had a short stint with St Johnstone in his early years. He signed with Sydney FC at the age of 12.
Coming through the system with Sydney, Girdwood-Reich reached the Sydney FC II side in 2020, where his development continued for two years before officially being moved up to their first-team. He made his debut in 2022 in the Australian Cup before making his A-League debut a couple of months later. He played 19 games that season for the first-team, including every minute of their Australian Cup campaign, which concluded with Sydney and Girdwood-Reich lifting the trophy.
“Sydney has a very special place in my heart,” he explained.
“I was a supporter since I was a kid, and I went to the games and watched them be very successful. I went through the full academy there, all the way to the first-team. I was lucky enough to be given a chance and got some real experience from a young age. When I was really, really young, I went between sports, but when I got to around the age of 10, it was just football. I would have been rugby if it wasn’t for my mum, for sure. It was too violent according to her!”
He picked up the Sydney FC Rising Star Award at the 2022 Sky Blue Awards night for his promising start in a Sydney FC jersey. By the start of the 2023 season in Australia, Girdwood-Reich was a starter for Sydney and started 23 matches, scoring his first goal for the club in February.
His performances earned him not only a spot in the PFA Players’ A-League Team of the Season but also a move to MLS side St Louis City in the summer of 2024, moving for an undisclosed fee, with reports suggesting the move broke the transfer record for Sydney FC.
“I received that Rising Star Award, which was an honour and a really nice feeling for me,” the defender said.
“It was the first step for me into professional football because of the training and matches. Those seasons helped me so much and I played a lot. There were other clubs interested in Europe but at the time, St Louis gave me a project I really liked and I thought I’d thrive in that environment. It didn’t quite go the way I’d have hoped for. They didn’t see me as too much of a starter and said I’d be more of a squad player. No footballer wants to hear that but they didn’t want to let me go at that time, so it was actually Deadline Day that I signed for Auckland. I really thought I needed to play consistently and I knew the manager at the time.
“They’d had a great season and I just thought it was a brilliant time to go back to the A-League.”
The A-League season kicked off the following month, with the defender featuring in all but one match for his side. Girdwood-Reich caught the headlines in a 5-0 win when his strike from over 80 yards out against Wellington Phoenix found the back of the net.
Auckland went on to win the A-League Men’s Championship with a 1-0 win over his former side, Sydney FC.
“The goal against Wellington Phenix was a strange one,” he laughed.
“I was talking to some of the boys here about it not so long ago because it did go a bit viral at the time. The start of the game was a bit annoying. There were too many throw-ins and stuff like that, and it was a clearance into a through-ball I did through frustration. I ended up booting the ball really hard and connected quite well with it, and I overhit it. I didn’t know what to do when it went in, to be honest.
“It was in a derby match away from home, and we were 4-0 up at half time. It will live with me forever. Put it this way, I don’t think I’ll be able to do it again. That season was amazing.
“I fell in love with Auckland as a club. The boys and coaching staff were incredible with me. There was a time in America where I wasn’t in a good place so to go there and thrive so much and win the league, it was a highlight of my career so far. I had so much backing that meant a lot to me. To give the club that first A-League trophy was special.
“I think any player will feel better when they feel backing and love from those around them. But I do feel like I can do the opposite. I can be told that I wasn’t good enough and the stuff I need to fix, but I’d be able to thrive off all that as well.”
Following a hugely successful season last year, by the time the summer rolled around, he had a number of options on the table for where the next move would be. But this was important for him.
Having made the choice to move to America last time this window of opportunity came around, he was determined that this transfer was going to be the right one for him.
“Off the back of a good season, of course there was interest,” the Aussie stated.
“But with what happened when I moved from Sydney, I didn’t want to make the wrong move again. So for me, it had to be the right project. The Motherwell project was perfect for me, and that’s why I’m here. Last season was very successful here, and I loved the style of play you played. The manager believed in me and thought I could do well here.
“I could live in a good city where some family would be nearby, which wouldn’t be the case elsewhere. We had so many games at the start here, and I’ve racked up a lot of games already. For the most part, we were averaging a game every three to four days. That can take its toll, but I also think in the last three games before the break, we weren’t quite up to standard. Us as players know that and want to make it right, which starts against Celtic.
“The group is hungry to get it right. What I’ve found out about this manager is he may be the boss around here, but he also cares about what’s going on in our lives outside of football. He’s asked me how I’ve been, as he knows it’s a big move away from home for me and what not. He cares a lot about that stuff, which is really good.”
The first international break of the season is over, and the extended break has come to a close. As the action returns against Celtic, the current champions, Girdwood-Reich is keen to hit the ground running once again.
“Everyone knows how big a task it’s going to be,” he mentioned.
“But it’s a bit like Freiburg for us. You want to play against the big clubs and test yourself against the best. This is a good opportunity for us. I saw Motherwell beat Celtic last year and it was evident how big a night that was. We want to do that again. Hopefully we can put on a good performance at home. We can take experiences and learnings from those games against Freiburg. We’ll be underdogs once again but that’s something we should enjoy.”
