Hamilton half-century – 50 up for Accies goal-getter Josi Giard | OneFootball

Ian Steele Photography

Hamilton Academical’s 6-1 win against St Johnstone on Friday strengthened their lead at the top of the SWPL 2 table. A tenth league victory from 11 this season for unbeaten Accies, the evening also yielded a personal landmark for Josephine Giard, who became their first player to reach 50 goals (from 120 appearances) in the SWPL era. We heard from ‘Josi’ herself, courtesy of Nick Brown.

Josephine Giard is Hamilton’s central striker. Born in Rostock, she played in Germany’s second-tier 2. Frauen-Bundesliga for FC Gütersloh before a move to Celtic brought her to Scotland in 2018. Joining Accies four years ago, she hasn’t stopped hitting the net since…

What’s it like to be a club legend?

(laughs slightly embarrassedly) It’s good! No, I’m not a legend; it’s a nice achievement but it is just a number. It’s one of those targets that people set before you but it is nice that I can say that I’ve done it. Being the first one to do it for the Accies in this new era is really cool.

Can you remember your first goal?

Yes, it was against Stirling University just after I signed for the club. I think it was from about ten yards; I just hit it past the goalkeeper.

What is the atmosphere like at the club at the moment? A great start to the season, the goals are flying in, it all looks good…

We are very positive at the moment. When you are winning games, it is always easier to work hard at training and buy into what your coaches want you to do. Having said that, we know we’re not even halfway through the season; nothing has been won yet and the coaches are reminding us of that a lot. Overall, though, everything is positive. Everyone is keen to show up for training and put the work in, there is a very good camaraderie, but it is always easier when you are winning. Your true character tends to come out when you are going through a tough period, which we fortunately haven’t had this season yet. We have had tough spells during games but not really a string of matches where we’re not getting anything, so it will be interesting to see how we react if and when that comes. The core players from last season are still here this season, so I don’t expect us to implode – at least I hope we don’t! If players come to Hamilton, they know they’re not going to earn the big bucks and are doing it for the passion of the game, and I think that is always valuable. I think that is more beneficial for the club rather than having players just turn up because they know they are getting paid.

Ian Steele Photography

You mention going through tough periods, so, when things aren’t going particularly well, who can you go to for advice or to rant to, or just for a chat?

For me, I can turn to our captain Megan Quinn; she has been at the club for ten years now and has seen it all. She has won the league before, she’s got promoted, she’s got relegated and she knows the game inside out. She is really good at motivating players and keeping them focused, so, yes, for me, she is my first point of contact.

What about yourself? You’re experienced, you’ve played in Germany as well as Scotland. Do you pass on your wisdom to the younger players?

I try to. I like to encourage them and try to take the pressure off them when we go into games. One or two get nervous about this or nervous about that and I try to calm them down. I say to them to ‘let me worry about this and you just go and play your game.’ I also try to be helpful when I think there are certain things they can improve on, and to be fair, they are very good and don’t mind listening to advice, which is great; a really good attitude for a young player to have.

Do you get nervous before games? How do you prepare yourself for matches?

It depends on the game. Sometimes I get nervous in the five minutes before kick-off, but then once the match starts, it’s fine. I definitely still get excited about playing. The day before a match, I try not to go to bed too late, but that often depends on how long Match of the Day runs! At the same time, I don’t like to sleep in too long; I like to make sure my body is properly awake. Because of my diabetes, I need to eat properly and try to have my last meal about three-and-a-half hours before kick-off so I can make sure that both the effects from the food and the effects from the insulin are dealt with; I find that works best for me. I also try to not sit around too much but to be on my feet a lot so I can make sure my body is properly working before I get to the game.

Who is really standing out at the moment?

I think considering how few goals we have let in so far this season, I have to say our defence. Keira Ritchie, one of our centre-halves, is in I think her second season in senior football and she has really taken to it. She has become one of the main players in our backline. You can tell she has really made steps in establishing herself and I think she could be a long-term key player. Also, it is good that the goals are being shared around. I’m the top scorer but there are also others who are not that far behind, and we have Justine and Vivienne Strain who have come in recently, so we’ve got good younger players as well. Really, overall, everybody is chipping in.

What qualities do you need to succeed in football?

Firstly, you definitely have to be committed; if you are a good player but half-hearted, I think that can only get you so far. If you have the talent, it can get you to a decent level, but if you want to go far, you cannot just rely on that talent alone. If a club is prepared to invest in you, they want to see that you are willing to put in the work. If you’re not, then they won’t waste their time and investment. Also, because football is a team sport, you need to understand what it means to be part of a team and how you can bring your assets to improve the team. At the same time, I don’t think it hurts if you can sometimes be a bit single minded as well. In certain situations during games, you have to tell yourself that you are going to win the duel, or you are going to get there first, or you are going to be the one to score the goal. Sometimes, especially as a striker, you have to tell yourself that ‘this moment is going to be all about me.’ You need to have that desire in you as well.

Ian Steele Photography

What’s your ambition in football? You’ve played in Germany, you’ve had a spell at Celtic. What do you want to achieve?

For me personally, I have never won a title at senior level, so I would love to win this season. Winning a title or a trophy is something I really want to do. Also, I have played in some big stadiums but there are some more I would like to tick off the list. For that, I don’t think it matters who you play for; when you get the chance to play at a big venue, it’s really cool. For me, it isn’t actually my ambition any more to become a full-time footballer, due to the way my life has developed, so if I got the chance to help Hamilton really properly establish themselves in SWPL 1, that would be great. Maybe that wouldn’t look like a great achievement on paper, but personally, that would be something that I would be proud of.

Ok then, let’s say that the Scottish FA asked you to play for them. Let’s say they found a particular rule regarding passports or people who had lived in the country for a certain amount of years or whatever and they realised you qualified, would you like to play for Scotland?

(thinks for quite a while) I think for me personally, yes, because of the opportunities it would give me. I don’t think anybody would say no to that. I also think, though, that it probably would not sit right with me that I might be taking that opportunity away from a Scottish person. Does that make sense?

Yes, it does. So, World Cup final, then, Scotland 0 Germany 0. In the 90th minute, Scotland are awarded a penalty, what do you do?

(laughs) I would obviously want the team to win that I was playing for. It would be a very unique situation. but when you play, you play to win. In that moment, you don’t really care about any other circumstances – I would smash it into the back of the net!

Interview: @nickbrown_books