Aberdeen Women defender Donna Paterson has urged her side to bounce back from a 6-2 defeat to ruthless Spartans when the Dons host Dundee United on Wednesday.
At Ainslie Park on Sunday, the Reds found themselves 3-0 down after 24 minutes via a Becky Galbraith brace and Julianne Ross tap-in.
Ross gave Aberdeen a lifeline after she scored an own goal in the 27th minute, but Mya Bates got her name on the scoresheet soon after to make it 4-1.
Galbraith, who had had a sensational opening 45 minutes and was involved in each of the goals, then got her hat-trick with a long-range effort in the closing stages of the half, before Eilidh Shore got another goal back for the Dons to make it 5-2.
The second half was a less frantic affair in front of goal, but Spartans did score a sixth through Hannah Jordan after 66 minutes.
It was a day to forget in Edinburgh for Aberdeen, and Paterson bemoaned the first-half display which left the Dons with a near-impossible task if they were to return north with points.
She said: “We’re not coming back from the start we made. It was a really slow-start, we were miles off it, and before we know it we’re 3-0 down.
“Heads go down and it’s difficult to come back from that.
“In the second half, we came out a bit better, but it was still a mountain to climb.
“I don’t know whether we came down thinking it was going to be a nice comfy game, but we should know against Spartans it’s never that way – it’s always going to be a battle.
“We should have been better equipped at the start of the game.
“It’s a defeat, but we’ll go work hard and come back stronger.”
Aberdeen in need of breathing space at bottom end of SWPL 1
Despite defeat to Spartans, Aberdeen remain in ninth in SWPL 1, but wins for Dundee United and Hamilton elsewhere reduced the Reds’ advantage over the other relegation contenders.
Their seven-point lead over 11th-placed Accies has been slashed to four points, while 10th-placed United are now only two points behind ahead of the crunch encounter at Balmoral Stadium on Wednesday.
That clash with the Terrors is followed up with a trip to New Douglas Park on Sunday as Aberdeen play Hamilton in their penultimate game of the season.
Paterson believes the Dons must now put the Spartans game behind them and focus on picking up a vital three points against United.
Aberdeen last played Dundee United in April, winning 4-3 – having led 2-0 – in an entertaining contest at Gussie Park.
Paterson said: “It’s a local derby, so it’s a game we’ll look forward to.
“Hopefully, we’ll get the three points and get the breathing space that we need.
“If we had put in a performance against Spartans and even got a point, then it would have given us some space, but it didn’t go that way.
“We just have to make sure we go out and do the job on Wednesday.”
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