Caley Thistle Women manager Karen Mason hopes her side can play without shackles during their Scottish Cup tie with Livingston.
The Caley Jags begin their Women’s Scottish Cup campaign in the third round, with SWF Championship and League One teams now entering the competition.
Caley Thistle have lost their three games in the league against Rossvale, Ayr United and Championship leaders Livingston.
Inverness were drawn against Livingston in the cup, and while Mason says her side wants to win every game, she hopes the cup is a chance to play more freely.
She puts this down to the “massive” gulf in women’s football, as SWPL 1 and SWPL 2 teams enter the revamped competition from the next round.
Inverness were beaten 14-0 in the third round last season by SWPL 1 side Hamilton Accies, who went on to finish bottom in the top flight.
Scottish Cup action comes to Inverness on Sunday! We welcome @livingstonwfc to Millburn Academy in the 3rd Round 🏆 pic.twitter.com/xoKqnPlbKE
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle WFC (@ICTWFC) November 30, 2022
Mason said: “In terms of the Scottish Cup, if we were to get a lucky draw which would mean we could get anywhere further down the line, then that would be great.
“But anytime we could come up against a SWPL team, the gulf is just so massive between those two leagues themselves, never mind considering the Championship.
“It’s a case of seeing how far we can get in the competition and if we beat Livingston, then a decent draw would be a bonus.
“The cup is not a massive priority for us, but we want to win every game we play. It’s going to be an opportunity for us to play without too much pressure.
“We want to build on our performances over the last couple of weeks and improve, but I want the girls to go out and express themselves freely.”
Aiming to end the calendar year on a high
The Scottish Cup tie is Caley Thistle’s penultimate game before the festive break, with their final fixture a league meeting against Rossvale on December 18.
Mason hopes that, off the back of three defeats, her side can perform in the cup and go on to end the calendar year on a positive note.
She said: “It’ll be nice to stop the rot before Christmas and give people a positive vibe to go off when the fixtures come to a stop in a couple weeks’ time.
“The cup gives the girls a chance to come in, especially those who might not have been starting recently, and still play against a team at a high level.
“We’ll be using it as a bit of stepping stone to our final game of the year against Rossvale in two weeks’ time.
“It’s not that there’s nothing to play for for us – because there is for us as individuals.
“It’s three games now we’ve been beaten, so it’ll be quite nice to change that and go out and give it our all against Livingston.”
SWF League One sides Westdyke and Grampian Ladies are also in Scottish Cup action, hosting Linlithgow Rose and Dundee West, respectively.
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