Aberdeen Women will be hoping to make more good memories in the Scottish Women’s Cup when the play their first tie in the competition away to Glasgow Women on Tuesday.
The competition was last played in 2019 and the Dons had a successful run to the quarter finals but fell just short in losing 1-0 to Rangers.
This time around Aberdeen co-boss Emma Hunter hopes her side can make even more memories and believes the magic of the cup means anything can happen.
She said: “The Scottish Cup’s got a different feeling from the league, so you get different performances, and we’ve got good memories from playing in it.
“You could end up getting a really good run where you end up in a semi-final or even a final so it’s vitally important that we play well.
“The cup creates special memories so it’s an opportunity to go out and make more.”
If the Dons were to progress, they will face fellow SWPL 1 side Spartans in the fourth round – a team they beat 2-0 on their route to the quarter-finals in 2019.
Hunter knows her side must remain focused on the task at hand against Glasgow Women, and she expects a decent challenge from the SWPL 2 team.
“We cannot underestimate Glasgow Women because we faced them last season and they’re always in and around the top of SWPL 2,” the Aberdeen co-manager said.
“They gave us a really good, competitive game and we only beat them 1-0 the first time we played them.
“They’ve got some really good young players and they’re a very a determined side – 100% they’ll be going out with nothing to lose against us.
“We will need to be switched on to that, because you just never know in the cup games.”
Change of personnel
The third round tie had to be changed to a midweek game after the original fixture was postponed due to Covid-19.
It means Aberdeen will play three games within seven days, having travelled to Hearts on Sunday – winning 4-0. They host SWPL 1 leaders Rangers this weekend.
The busy schedule means the cup game might present itself as an opportunity for fringe players to get some game time and make their mark in the squad.
Hunter said: “It’s a good opportunity to bring in some fresh legs because having games Sunday and Tuesday is quite difficult for the players so we’re going to have to rotate a bit.
“It does make us about our team selection that little bit more difficult – who can get an opportunity that maybe hasn’t had that chance?
“Maybe they can perform and then that leaves us with even more difficult decisions.”