SWF League One twins set for first competitive face-off

A pair of football-playing twins are set to face each other competitively for the first time in their careers this weekend as Rachel Duncan’s Grampian Ladies are to host her sister Sammy Hyett’s club Edinburgh Caledonia in a Scottish Women’s League One fixture in Aberdeen.

Both women started playing together at school aged five and went on to play for local girls’ team Westhill then Aberdeen and Scotland squads as youth players but have never faced each other in a competitive match.

The sisters only stopped playing together when they  went to different universities, and have since both been integral to the establishment of their current teams.

As well as leading the side on the field, Hyett is the chair of Edinburgh Caledonia having set up the club 12 years ago, and Duncan is secretary of Grampian Ladies and helped establish the club a few years ago.

Rachel Duncan said: “We have played for different teams ever since Uni but never come up against each other in the same league.

“In Grampian’s second season I feel like we are settling into the league well, we have a lot of young talent and experienced skilful players who are gelling well together. I don’t believe Caley’s results truly reflect their ability and can never be misjudged. I won’t be going into the game assuming anything and know it is going to be a tough clash.

“I am really looking forward to it especially with all the talk and rivalry building up since we knew we would be playing against each other.

“My husband is the chairman so behind the scenes I play a big part in setting up and now running the club, I even designed the logo which I now proudly can see being worn by hundreds of girls in Aberdeen. My stepdaughter is the captain of the ladies and my grand-daughter plays in the Under 5s. Therefore, the history of our teams and parts we play in our clubs add an even bigger competitive element.”

Sammy Hyett said: “I had high hopes for Caley this season after competing with the top half of the championship last season but unfortunately haven’t seen results go our way. We continue to train hard and strive to have a better second half of the season.  We have played some teams twice already – all the while we eagerly await to play Grampian after the fixture was postponed with both teams participating in the league cup.

“This will indeed be the first time we have ever come up against each other in a league fixture in the thirty plus years we have both played. Due to our background and involvement in our respective clubs there has always been a rivalry. For a number of years we played each other in ‘The Hyett Cup’, when our parents would present the winning team some silverware, unknowing that we would get to play each other in the same league one day.

“I am looking forward to playing Grampian now we are both under the performance sector.  I know we both think we know each others gameplans – it will be interesting to see who comes away with three points.”

The game kicks off at 12pm at the Banks of Dee, which will provide a cracking precursor to the world cup final for spectators in the North East.