When Craig Feroz took charge of Montrose Women, he found a team in a mess, with them not being affiliated with the men’s side of the club in any way and having to pay for use of the training ground. He had also never coached in the women’s game, and so was undergoing something that he had yet to fully experience.
Tasked with building a squad that could achieve promotion to the second tier of the Scottish women’s football pyramid, he quickly got to work, and earnt plenty of plaudits when he managed to secure a jump into the SWPL 2 last summer. Not many expected them to repeat the feat and seal a second successive promotion, with only Aberdeen Women achieving that feat, and yet that is exactly what Montrose have done, with them mathematically ensuring a place in next season’s SWPL 1 campaign at the weekend, allowing them to finally look forward to league clashes with the likes of Glasgow City, Celtic Women and Rangers Women.
There have been plenty of off-field improvements for the women’s team during Feroz’s time at the club, such as greater financial backing and the decision to make the men’s stadium, Links Park, their permanent home ground, and all have contributed to their success.
On the field, Feroz has worked hard to implement a game plan that allows his players to express themselves, with it including some structured elements but mainly relying on individual quality and the ability of those on the field to adapt to different surroundings, and this tactical analysis will look at that side of things in order to highlight why the club have achieved something that, until very recently, they thought was impossible.
Final third play
In an interview with The Herald back in February, before a Scottish Women’s Cup fifth-round tie at Motherwell Women, Feroz stated that he felt his side’s attacking nature made them the best team in the SWPL 2, and, whilst it might have been a bold statement for him to make, results and performances have proved him right as the campaign has gone on.
One of the things that really stands out is that Montrose never rush when they have the ball, with each individual pass being carefully planned and them never giving their opponents a chance to clear their lines.
This situation illustrates that perfectly, with the ball travelling towards forward London Pollard, as the blue circle illustrates, whilst both Flora Bruce and Stacey McFadyen are moving ahead to take up positions amongst the East Fife Women defence in order to provide the next passing option for her. By doing so, they now make Pollard’s decision very simple and ensure that the team can keep hold of the ball more ably, with a risky cross into the middle not being attempted and a series of shorter diagonal passes instead being used to progress the ball into the goal area.
