Aberdeen Women co-boss Gavin Beith says his side won’t let the importance of three points affect their performance when they welcome Hearts to Balmoral Stadium.
After a two-week break, the Dons return to action against the Jambos to kick off the run to the end of the season – where they play six times in four weeks.
It feels like another must-win game for Beith and Emma Hunter’s side, as three points would boost their hopes of a top half finish in SWPL 1.
The Reds currently sit in fifth on 26 points, with a game in hand over Spartans who are two points behind in sixth.
But Beith insists that despite the stakes of the clash, Aberdeen won’t be approaching it any different.
He said: “It’s an opportunity to go put on another good performance, pick up more points and keep ourselves in that fifth-place spot.
“It’s been the same all season, and every club outside the top three or four will be thinking the same, these are the games you need to and are expected to win.
“We’re well aware of the size of the game, but Hearts will be fired up too and will want to get themselves further up the league.
“But nothing is going to be any different – every time we go into games in SWPL 1, we know what we need to do and we expect the girls to perform.”
A chance to right past wrongs
The last time the Dons welcomed Hearts to Balmoral they suffered a disappointing 3-2 defeat after giving away a 2-0 lead.
And although they have beaten Eva Olid’s side 4-0 since then, Beith says that loss is something they still draw on and will be hoping to put it right this weekend.
He added: “It’s something we still discuss regularly, that we’ve been in those winning positions, but when you get there, you need to be able to see the game out.
“We didn’t have our best game that day, but when we got ourselves ahead we really shouldn’t have lost the game.
“It’s happened a couple times this season, but we’ve learned a lot since then.
“We’ve come on a long way, and with those experiences you need to learn from them – the girls have done that.”
The clash against Hearts is the penultimate home game of the season for the Dons, and Beith hopes that plenty of fans will there to spur his side on.
He said: “Every time we’re at Balmoral, we appreciate everyone who comes out.
“I know it can be challenging to give up a lot of time to watch football, but the girls certainly appreciate it.
“Hopefully we can go out there and do what we try and do best – get the ball down and play some attractive football to get the three points.”
Aberdeen Women v Hearts kicks off at Balmoral Stadium at 4pm, with entry set at £5 for adults, or free for under-16s.