Caley Thistle Women manager Karen Mason has reflected on her side’s SWF Championship campaign as the season nears its conclusion.
The Caley Jags travel to Edinburgh on Sunday to play Hutchison Vale in their final game of the campaign.
Inverness currently sit on 42 points and already have fifth place in the Championship secured.
Mason admits the season has been filled with highs and lows, with the third tier proving to be one of, if not the most competitive divisions of women’s football in the country.
But the key thing, the Inverness boss says, is making sure ICT learn from the inaugural national Championship campaign and build on it next term.
Mason said: “We’ve had a decent end to the season (three wins in a row) which is nothing less than what I hoped or expected we’d do in terms of the way we’ve been getting the results.
“Looking back on this season overall, I think we know we’ve underachieved for the group of players we’ve got.
TABLE | GW 30
The Championship table ahead of the final round this Sunday….#BeTheDifference pic.twitter.com/FGkUjjnCEZ
— SWF Championship (@SWFChampionship) May 15, 2023
“If we’re to take anything from this season, it’s to make sure we learn from it and improve next year. That’s how we can make this season count for something.
“It was only Dryburgh we were familiar with (before the season) – we weren’t too sure how close we were to the teams in the south.
“It’s been good that we’ve been able to compete in this league. We haven’t always got the results, but we’ve taken points off every single team.
“There are definitely some silver linings. When we reflect on that a bit in the offseason, then that (the positives) will maybe become more apparent.”
Ending season on a high for departing players
With Inverness currently on a good run of form following wins over Greenock Morton (two) and Dryburgh Athletic, Mason hopes her side can end the Championship season on a positive note.
She also wants to give the three players confirmed to be leaving the club – Kim Jappy, Nicky Jappy and Alex Andrews – a good send off in their final games.
Mason said: “When we came into the league split, we had guaranteed ourselves fifth place after just one game, but we still have some targets we’d like to hit.
“Our goal difference is currently minus-two and we could finish level on points with Ayr in fourth, so it would be quite nice if we can round off the season by achieving our goals – we’re not thinking there’s nothing to play for.
“We’ve got some points to prove and we want to finish on a win and give the girls that are finishing with us a good final game in an Inverness shirt.”
The other north fixtures this weekend
In the penultimate weekend in Biffa SWFL North, second-placed Inverurie Locos travel to Dryburgh Athletic, hoping leaders Forfar Farmington slip up at Stonehaven.
If Forfar beat Stonehaven, they will secure the title, as the Angus side will be at least six points clear of Locos with only one game left to play.
Basement side Westdyke Thistle host Dyce, while Buchan welcome Huntly to Peterhead in search of their second win on the spin.
Conversation