Aberdeen Women co-manager Gavin Beith says his side must be at their best if they are to be in with a chance of picking up points against Rangers.
The Dons host the reigning SWPL 1 champions at Balmoral Stadium this afternoon for their first home game of the league season.
Beith’s side lost their opening game against Hamilton, while Rangers started their title defence with a 14-0 rout – including 10 different goalscorers – over Glasgow Women.
Aberdeen co-boss Beith knows the Dons will have to be defensively strong to prevent Rangers putting on another ruthless display in front of goal.
He said: “We already knew that we’d have to be at our best against Rangers – even before they scored 14 goals last weekend.
“They are a top-quality side with really good players and have strengthened their squad this season ahead of playing in the Champions League.
“Rangers are a really strong outfit and, regardless of the score line last week, we know that we’re going to have to be as resolute as we can be.
“We will have to be defensively solid for long periods of the game.
“We’ll try our very best to put on a good showing and defend resolutely, so we can go and compete.”
Taking chances will be key
At the other end of the pitch, Beith knows Aberdeen will have to be clinical if chances come their way, as Rangers will look to dictate the game.
However, he isn’t concerned about scoring goals as he knows the Dons have the firepower to put chances away – the important thing is being able to create them.
Aberdeen will have a full squad available against Rangers, as vice-captain Francesca Ogilvie – who scored eight SWPL 1 goals last season – and striker Lauren Gordon return.
There will also be a fresh face in the Dons’ squad, as new signing Elena Karkainnen, a Finnish midfielder, could be in line for her debut.
Beith said: “You get worried if you’re not creating chances, but they can be hard to come by when you’re playing against these top teams.
“So, when they do come along, we have to take them – which doesn’t concern me. We have plenty of players in this team who are more than capable of scoring goals.
“I’d be more worried if we’re conceding and not creating anything at the other end. Hopefully we can show what we’re about all over the park.”
Taking memories of Pittodrie to Balmoral Stadium
The last time the Dons played Rangers in Aberdeen was at their homecoming match at Pittodrie in March, where 1,894 fans watched on from the Main Stand.
Beith and Emma Hunter’s side played the Glasgow side again in April, as the reverse fixture was hosted by Ibrox, with more than 4,000 fans in attendance.
And the Aberdeen co-manager believes they can use those occasions as motivation when they host the SWPL 1 champions at the Balmoral this weekend.
Beith said: “You do raise your game when the top teams come to town – it happens naturally. The girls always have that fired-up mindset.
“The message we’ve given them this week is that we had that game at Pittodrie not so long ago where we were well in the game for long spells.
“It was the same at Ibrox when we got beat 4-0, -we were still in the game for periods of time and we did well over the 90 minutes.
“So, because we have the memories of being able to go toe-to-toe with these top teams, we need to do that again, and have the belief and confidence that we can do it.”
Aberdeen Women v Rangers kicks off at 4pm at Balmoral Stadium.