Karen Mason reckons Dryburgh Athletic’s Championship Cup win against Montrose is also a boost for her Caley Thistle Women as they target promotion from Championship North.
The Dundee side ripped up the form book to beat the runaway Championship North leaders Montrose 1-0 in the first-ever Championship Cup final, played at the Falkirk Stadium.
It came just over a month after Montrose crushed them 7-0 and only one week after the Highland team won 3-1 against Dryburgh in Tayside.
Inverness CT boss Mason, whose side are firmly in the promotion hunt, reckons the victory against all odds was a real eye-opener which her club can also take heart from.
She said: “Dryburgh were very well organised in the final and probably put in their most disciplined performance of the season.
📸 Actions shots from yesterdays @SWFChampionship match between Dryburgh Athletic and @ICTWFC pic.twitter.com/8cZtLPEXlI
— Dryburgh Athletic Girls & Women (@Dryburghgirls) November 22, 2021
“Last time they played, Montrose put seven past Dryburgh without reply, so it was definitely not a predicted result at all. It was a shock, but well deserved.
“It shows every team in our league can beat one another and it certainly gives a bit of a boost to ourselves.”
Buchan improving and in the chase
This Sunday, Inverness Royal Academy is the venue for the 2.30pm meeting between Caley Thistle and Buchan.
The hosts go into this clash in third spot, ahead of Dryburgh on goal difference and six points behind East Fife with a game in hand.
Buchan head north six points poorer than ICT in fifth position and have played one fixture more than Mason’s players.
We play our final home match of 2021 on Sunday when we host Buchan at Inverness Royal Acadmey-2.30pm kick off 🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/50pvenhOlg
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle WFC (@ICTWFC) December 1, 2021
The Caley Jags won 5-0 away to Buchan in September, but with plenty riding on this one, Mason expects a testing 90 minutes at the academy.
She added: “Buchan have clawed back some points in the last wee while, so they are not too far behind us.
“They will be looking for an improved performance from when we played them last time. They seem to have added a few players to their squad, so I don’t expect to be facing the same team on Sunday.
“It will be all to play for, for both teams. Neither side will want to slip up.”
Last home game of year for ICT
After hosting Buchan, ICT are away to table-topping Montrose on December 12 before going tackling Clyde at Broadwood on December 19 in the Scottish Women’s Cup.
The Inverness boss hopes fans turn out in force to back her players as they seek to sign off their home form with three precious points.
She said: “We tend to get a decent home support to watch the games. It’s also the last home fixture of the year for us as we’re on the road for the rest of December. It will be nice to finish off our year at home with a good three points.”
Alex Andrews and Robyn Evans are the two absentees for Inverness on Sunday, but Mason should have an otherwise full squad to pick from. Kick-off is at 2.30pm.
