Caley Thistle Women manager Karen Mason has called for her side to enjoy the challenge of facing a SWPL 1 side in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
Mason’s side travel south to play Glasgow Women on Sunday, a team who play two leagues above Championship Inverness in Scotland’s top-flight.
It’s the second season in a row Caley Thistle have come up against SWPL 1 opposition in the cup, having been defeated by Hamilton Accies in the third round last year.
The Caley Jags beat Championship rivals Livingston 2-1 in December to progress to the fourth round of this year’s revamped competition.
Inverness’ opponents Glasgow Women currently sit bottom of SWPL 1 after winning promotion from SWPL 2 last season, and are yet to pick up a point in the league campaign.
However, Mason knows her side will still go into the cup clash as “underdogs” so has encouraged them to embrace the challenge, rather than fear it.
Mason said: “We won’t go down there and be intimidated by them. We know they’re in the top league, but it’s a Scottish Cup game, so we’re in it to see how we fare against these sort of teams.
🙌 The Women's Scottish Cup is back this weekend, with 16 fixtures taking place across the country.
Last season's winners, @CelticFCWomen, join the rest of the @SWPL sides in entering the competition at the Fourth Round.#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/dipyyiXLQ2
— Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) January 5, 2023
“You can’t read too much into their position in the league, because it just shows the massive gulf there is in SWPL 1 – never mind between that league and the others.
“We know we’re the underdogs, but we’ll go down there and give it our best shot.
“It’s going to be a tough test, but we’re looking forward to it and it’s a good way to kickstart the second half of the season.
“The message will be the same as it was against Livingston in the last round: we’ve got nothing to lose, so go out there relax and play the football we know we can play.
“We put in a great performance against Livingston, so hopefully that’s something we can replicate on Sunday against Glasgow Women.”
Scottish Cup is good opportunity for game time ahead of league return
Mason says the Scottish Cup clash will act as good preparation ahead of Caley’s return to league action in the Championship next weekend, when they travel to third-place Renfrew.
She said: “We’ve had a long lay-off over Christmas, albeit we’ve been training once a week, but the weather has played havoc with that.
“It’ll be good for the players to get 90 minutes before the really important games come in again.
“The cup is a bonus for us – it’s not something we’re aiming to win, but it’s a good test to see how far we can compete.
“No matter what the result is on Sunday, if our players get 90 minutes in their legs and that helps us prepare better for Renfrew the following week, then that’s a bonus for us.”
Caley Thistle will be without Natalie Bodiam, Peigi Barker and Kirsty Deans for the cup tie, while Lorna McRae is also a doubt, and Mason admits she might have to call on under-18 players for the trip to Glasgow.
She added: “We might not have a massive squad with us, so if we have to go down the route of calling up some of the U18 players then we’ll do that.
Last night was our final training session of 2022! We return to action on Sunday 8th January when we go to Glasgow Women in the Scottish Cup 🏆 pic.twitter.com/CDEQL9Pg5L
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle WFC (@ICTWFC) December 30, 2022
“It would be a good chance for them to test themselves against a team who play at the highest level in the country, and it’s an opportunity for us to play about with the team and maybe mix up the squad.”
In their fourth round ties, Westdyke and Grampian Ladies both host SWPL 2 opposition, as they welcome Kilmarnock and East Fife to Lawsondale and Spain Park, respectively.
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