Aberdeen Women captain Nadine Hanssen insists the Dons will have moved on from a heavy midweek defeat to Hibernian when they host Celtic on Sunday.
The Reds succumbed to a 5-0 defeat against Hibs on Wednesday night, which was their heaviest loss of the SWPL season.
Aberdeen can’t afford to dwell on the defeat, says the skipper, who has urged her side to “move on” from the Hibs result and focus on what they can do better to secure a more positive result against Fran Alonso’s side.
Celtic travel north to Balmoral Stadium with a 100% record in the SWPL this season, while Aberdeen sit fifth with 12 points after seven games.
Hanssen said: “We have had a flying start to the season and, despite the result, we need to look at how we performed against Hibs because we did play well at times.
“But we need to move on from the result now and forget about it quickly.
“We will need to have quicker reactions against Celtic. We had some really good spells in possession (against Hibs), but when we lost the ball we just did not react quickly enough.
“Against Celtic we will need do be much better at that. They are a challenging team and will make it really hard for us, so we need to be prepared to run.”
Hanssen says battling display a positive to take forward
Hanssen believes the defeat against Hibs was an unfair reflection of Aberdeen and the captain wants her side to take positives from aspects of the performance.
However, the disappointment extended beyond the result as goalkeeper Faye Kirby and midfielder Laura Holden came off injured, with the former confirmed to be out for the Celtic clash.
Teenage defender Madison Finnie will also be missing against Celtic due to suspension, having been shown a straight red card against Hibs.
Hanssen said: “I don’t think 5-0 reflects how we played, especially in the first half.
“The first 30 minutes I thought we played really well. We had clear chances, but we just didn’t convert them.
“The first chance they have they go and score and it’s 1-0, even then we were still well in the game, but because of the way the game went and how things happened (injuries and sending off), it plays a part in conceding more goals.
“The only thing we can do then is not give up and keep working hard for each other.
“The girls did that really well and gave everything until the final whistle, and that was all I could ask for.”
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