Caley Thistle Women aim to keep up their unbeaten run going by dumping SWF Championship cup holders Dryburgh Athletic out of the competition.
Karen Mason’s side travel to Dundee on Sunday to face Dryburgh Athletic in the quarter-finals of the recently rebranded SWF Championship and League One Cup.
The Dundee side beat Montrose, who now play in SWPL 2, 1-0 in the final of last year’s competition to lift the league cup trophy.
The Caley Jags go into the cup tie having gone unbeaten in their last two games in the league, which was a 3-0 win against Hutchison Vale and 0-0 draw with Renfrew.
It’s the first time this season that Caley Thistle have gone undefeated over consecutive games.
Dryburgh sit bottom of the Championship, with four points from nine games, all of which came from draws. Inverness beat the Dundee side 3-2 on league duty in September.
And while Mason says the cup is not their “priority”, she wants her side to extend their unbeaten run by embracing the opportunity of knock-out football.
She said: “The clean sheets and being undefeated in the last two games are big positives. We’ll have our biggest squad available so that’s good news, too.
“It’ll give us a bit more depth and options if things aren’t going well.
“The cup isn’t our priority – promotion is – but it’s not something you have the chance to get involved in too often.
“It’s something that we want to do well in and it allows for different kinds of opportunities for the girls, who have maybe not played in cup competitions before.
“We do take it seriously – it’s not something we take on lightly, so we want to do well and go as far as we can in the competition.
“We want to keep this unbeaten run going – in the league and in the cup – so knocking out the holders would give us a bit of kudos, too.”
New signing Ross goes straight into squad for cup clash
Earlier this week, Inverness announced the signing of 18-year-old striker Betty Ross, who previously played for Highlands and Islands side Clachnacuddin.
In signing for the Caley Jags, Ross makes the step up from recreational football to Scotland’s elite third-tier, but manager Mason believes she’s ready for the challenge.
NEW SIGNING: After a successful trial period we are delighted to announce the signing of prolific goal scorer Betty Ross! Welcome to the Club ✍🏻🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/2TiDGeGID7
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle WFC (@ICTWFC) October 25, 2022
She said: “Betty has been cruising in the Highlands and Islands League for a few years now, but maybe her loyalties to her club held her back a bit.
“She realised that she wanted to progress her football and knows the place to do that is with us, so we’re delighted to have her and she’ll go straight into the squad on Sunday.
“She’s a known goalscorer, so that’s something that we’ve maybe not had regularly as of late, so hopefully she can find the back of the net for us when we need it.”
League One sides aiming for semi-final spot
League One side Westdyke will aim to extend their unbeaten run, in all competitions, when they host Championship outfit Ayr United – also in the league cup quarter-finals.
The Westhill side are unbeaten in the league, having won seven of their opening eight games in the fourth-tier , and only dropping points after a 1-1 draw with Airdrie.
Grampian Ladies host FC Edinburgh at Banks o’ Dee’s Spain Park in their quarter-final tie, having lost 6-0 to the League One leaders last weekend.
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