Karen Mason praised her Caley Thistle Women’s side for showing a continued commitment to ensure they were on board to tackle Championship North leaders Montrose in midweek.
The Inverness team lost 3-1 at Links Park and that came just a few days after they hit back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with Championship Cup holders Dryburgh.
This Sunday, the players are on the coach again as they hit the road to Buchan for their third fixture in seven days.
Lesson learned from Montrose clash
The boss was chuffed to have a strong pool to pick from last week and said there was plenty of positives to be taken from the performance of her fourth-placed side against Montrose.
She said: “There were some tired legs going on the trip to Montrose in midweek.
“All credit to the players, who got off work early and jump on the bus for three hours to rock up and play.
“We had a full squad, which was really pleasing. We managed to compete with Montrose. Unfortunately, it was three set-pieces which they scored from.
“We competed with them in every other area, so that’s the area we need to brush up on when they come to Inverness next weekend.
“If we can prevent those set-pieces happening, we have a chance because we didn’t allow them any other opportunities.
“We will take confidence from that and try to give them a hard time at the other end.”
Seeking response away to Buchan
Caley Thistle have beaten Buchan 5-0 twice this season, but Mason expects her players to have to put in a shift in order to break down their weekend hosts.
She said: “We’re back on the bus on Sunday and hopefully we will have a full squad again.
“Buchan can be a stuffy team, who are hard to break down. We will be ready for the same again.
Mad March and the games are coming thick and fast…We are clocking up the miles this week when we travel to Buchan on Sunday 🚐 pic.twitter.com/jgo9RcBKun
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle WFC (@ICTWFC) March 10, 2022
“Hopefully we can get a strong performance as we aim to bounce back from the loss at Montrose on Wednesday.”
Point well earned from 3-0 down
Looking back at last Sunday’s thrilling comeback display against Dryburgh, Mason felt the share of the spoils were merited for their courageous efforts.
She added: “At the time, I didn’t think the goals would come. We just could not find our way to goal.
🚨WE’RE BACK IN LEAGUE ACTION🚨
Our campaign to defend our title is back in action this weekend as we travel to Orkney. A strong pre-season has got us ready to go again 🤟🏼
🗓 13 – March – 2022
📍 Kirkwall Grammar school, Orkney
⏱ 12:00pm kick off
🏆 Highland and Islands pic.twitter.com/DJLP94g1X8— Inverness Caledonian Thistle H&I Squad (@ICThighlands) March 10, 2022
“However, when we got the first one back, our confidence increased. After that, we were steam-rollering them and, had we a few more minutes, we might have won it, although it could have gone the other way. But, to get a point was something we deserved from that game.”
The Highlands and Islands League season starts this Sunday, with ICT’s development team’s title defence starting with an away day in Orkney.