Shame on Joey Barton and his 2.8m lapdogs for mocking a 17-year-old kid, writes ALISON McCONNELL. His nasty nature has brutally exposed her to the very worst elements of playing football

Football is not a forgiving environment. If Ava Easdon didn’t appreciate it before Sunday’s Sky Sports Cup final, she will now.

Yet the 17-year-old’s foibles were subjected to the most sarcastic and condescending criticism this weekend. Still at school and through to the cup final because regular manager Megan Cunningham was ineligible to play against her parent club, Easdon didn’t need the stack-on who came to his 2.8 million lapdogs on Joey Barton’s whistle.

There is no doubt that the teenager had made a serious mistake when Mia McAulay scored the opening goal of a match that Rangers eventually won 4-1. The suspicion is that she would have known her positioning was wrong from the moment she felt the ball whistle past her and into the net.

But she had no need for the mistake to be magnified and mocked by the judge and jury of a group that would be firmly in favor of the FA’s ban on women playing football being reinstated in all circumstances.

And although that ban may belong to a different time, its echo is still palpable in women’s football.

The part-time goalkeeper – who is still at school – was forced to forget a match but learn a hard lesson about the women’s game

The former Fleetwood Town manager has exposed a high-profile mistake in a message aimed at his 2.8 million followers on

It’s why Partick Thistle went to the domestic cup final in the position where they had to promote a rookie into the spotlight. The Firhill team are the only part-time club in the top six, with manager Brian Graham commenting after the match how difficult it is to bridge the gap with the country’s top three teams, while still having to ask headteachers for time off begging for his players to make midweek matches while his players still juggle full-time work and training with their playing commitments.

Is it really any surprise that a high-profile mistake is made by an inexperienced boy – Easdon had made 11 first-team appearances before Sunday – when he was put into a match against a side with vastly superior resources? If Accrington Stanley had to use a 17-year-old goalkeeper in an FA Cup tie against Manchester City, would we be surprised if that scenario went as expected?

The development of women’s football has lagged far behind that of men’s football. As such, it is an impoverished sideshow as it demands every penny in a Scottish game where resources are stretched to the limit.

The message we are hearing is that players like Easdon are part of a whole new group of Scottish players as they can look at the opportunity to build a career within the game. And yet: can they do that? Professional contracts are on offer with Celtic, Rangers, Glasgow City, Hibs and Hearts. But what that actually means in terms of financial reward would shock most observers. In many cases, they would struggle to meet national minimum wage requirements.

These are not players living the good life. Instead, many of them have to take that full-time contract and work around other earning obligations to achieve a certain standard of living. For others it means living with their parents so they can concentrate fully on football.

There is sometimes a sense that there is an inability to provide a robust examination of standards in the women’s game.

There is some truth to that theory, but the nasty nature of Barton, a man named in an earlier Twitter thread on Sunday as the worst player to ever play for Rangers, and his snide reproach left a sour taste behind.

Partick Thistle manager Brian Graham discussed the difficulties his side faced in bridging the gap with the top teams

Earlier on social media on Sunday afternoon, Barton was named the worst ever player for Rangers (pictured in 2016)

There is a conversation to be had about the responsibility of adults when commenting on someone under the age of 18, regardless of what stage they are on.

The youngster was brutally exposed to the worst elements that football can bring this weekend.

She will know better than anyone what she needs to work on in terms of her game, but what she will also have learned this weekend is that there is also a supportive community to help her get there.

Rangers captain Nicola Docherty was quick to back the teenager with a sharp tweet refusing to use Barton’s name amid plenty of messages of support. And her kickboxing father led the way as those around her rightfully tried to contact him.