PARTICK Thistle women's head coach Brian Graham has paid tribute to central defender Demi Falconer, who reached the milestone of 100 successive games at the end of Friday night's 4-2 Scottish Cup quarter final win over Hibernian.
Even more remarkably, the 24-year-old played every minute of each game, an achievement which Graham, who has seen almost everything in his long career in the men's game, says is unique in his experience.
“I was quite taken aback by it and shocked,” Graham said of his reaction after being told by a member of the Thistle backroom staff that a presentation was planned at the end of Friday's game. “It's an incredible record.
“I did panic because I thought she'd pulled her hamstring with five minutes to go as she was clutching it. I'm just so glad she managed to remain on the pitch and finish the game.”
Falconer started her senior career with Hearts before going to Stirling University, where she studied criminology and sociology, on a sports scholarship. The women's side were in SWPL 1 at the time, and the first of her 100 games was against Glasgow City on November 5, 2017.
She played 51 matches for Stirling before her move to Thistle, with the remaining 49 being completed on Friday. Two thirds of the games were in SWPL 1, with the remainder in SWPL 2 and the two cup competitions.
The win over Hibs was especially pleasing for Falconer, who is wearing the armband while captain Colette Fleming is injured. “I'm actually a Hearts fan and my dad was very happy with the score,” she smiled after finishing her day's work as a delivery driver for Boots.
“It was a great night for Thistle overall. We made history by reaching the semi-finals and for myself it was 100 games.”
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