Caley Thistle Women’s boss Karen Mason praised her players for digging deep to respond to a potentially damaging Championship North defeat to East Fife earlier this month.
A 2-1 home loss against the league’s second-placed side cost the Inverness team a chance of replacing them there a fortnight ago as the in-form Highlanders, who lost two early season games, tumbled to fourth spot.
Mason was less than impressed with her team that afternoon as they slid to what was a second defeat against the Fifers this term.
The heat was really on last Sunday as they took on another promotion rival in Dryburgh Athletic.
FULL TIME – 1-3 to @ICTWFC in a cracking @SWFChampionship tie
All the best to ICT for the remainder of the season
🟣🔵 #𝘿𝙧𝙮𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 #𝙎𝙒𝙁𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 pic.twitter.com/nCPOo18nhu
— Dryburgh Athletic Girls & Women (@Dryburghgirls) November 21, 2021
Numbers were low in terms of available players, but the Caley Jags rallied and returned from Tayside with a 3-1 victory thanks to goals from Hannah Gordon, Natalie Bodium and Rhea Hossack. It took ICT back into third position.
The manager said: “We got the reaction we were looking for. We travelled there with a depleted squad, but all those involved had a lot more spark and fight about them.
“It was a hard-fought 90 minutes, but it a victory we thoroughly deserved. It was refreshing to see the team back firing on all cylinders.
#ChampionshipCup | This morning was the media event to promote the 2021 SWF Championship Cup Final between @Dryburghgirls and @MontroseFCW 🏆
Exclusive content to come over the next couple of days as we build up to the big day… 📺📸
📸 @CollargeImages pic.twitter.com/Ber8rlzEQT
— SWF Championship (@SWFChampionship) November 24, 2021
“We knew that another win would take us back up a place in the league and we still have a game in hand over Dryburgh to come later this season.
“We wanted to try and get the win and it keeps the pressure on East Fife, who are six points ahead of us.”
ICT return to league action next Sunday (December 5), when they host fifth-placed Buchan at Inverness Royal Academy. Another win is required to keep the pressure on East Fife.
Seven days after that, they travel to perfect starters and leaders Montrose.
Caley Jags land Clyde in Scottish Cup
Caley Thistle, meanwhile, discovered they will face an away clash against Championship South opponents Clyde in the Scottish Women’s Cup on December 19.
Mason admits it’s a step into the unknown, having not tackled the Cumbernauld team for some time.
Once the two high-pressure league fixtures are over, they will focus on progressing to round three of the cup with a winning display.
An away day for the 2nd Round of the Scottish Cup when we visit @ClydeWFC
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle WFC (@ICTWFC) November 23, 2021
The manager added: “We have not faced Clyde for many years. They are 10th in Championship South and I’m sure it will be a very different Clyde we’ll face this time.
“We will go there when that tie comes around and worry about ourselves and hopefully do well enough to get into the next round.”