Westdyke and Caley Thistle Women are raring to start their respective SWF Championship and League One Cup campaigns in the second round.
The SWF Championship sides enter the competition this weekend, with Westdyke hosting Greenock Morton, while Inverness welcome League One outfit Falkirk.
Interim Westdyke head coach Steve Robb hopes the Westhill side can build on a positive start to the league season by going on a cup run.
Westdyke, who were promoted Championship via the League One play-offs, won their opening two matches against Hutchison Vale and this weekend’s opponents Morton, before sufferings defeats to Ayr United and league leaders Rossvale.
Robb said: “We have started the season quite well with two wins, so we’ve had the chance to get some experience at this (Championship) level.
“The wins took the pressure off a bit, but even after the defeats spirits were still high.
Details of Sundays @SWFChampionship league cup encounter with @MortonFCWomen @LegaseaLtd #weareallwestdyke pic.twitter.com/R2n8uzJCbl
— Westdyke Ladies (@WestdykeLadies) September 20, 2023
“It was a long trip back on the bus from Ayr, but by the time we got back spirits were back up again. Hopefully, those smiles will continue this weekend.
“Ayr and Rossvale is the level we expected of this league, so we know we have to adapt to that and we’ve got the confidence that this squad can do that over the course of the season.
“It’s encouraging to have Morton in the cup because we’ve already played them and know what to expect, but they are starting to building momentum.
“We will give it a good go on Sunday and, hopefully, see what the next game brings.”
Caley Thistle targeting silverware
Meanwhile, Caley Thistle manager Karen Mason is hoping for a cup run as her side have set silverware as a target this season.
She said: “We are trying to get silverware this season, and this is our first opportunity for that.
“In terms of the cup competitions, we don’t take the Scottish (Cup) too seriously just because of the gulf in quality there is between all the teams involved.
“The Championship and League One Cup is something that we really want to try and get a good run in and starting that off on Sunday against Falkirk would be an ideal way to go about that.”
Mason does not want to see a case of history repeating itself, so is expecting a stern test against the Bairns.
Caley Thistle can go into the game confident, though, having won three of their opening four league fixtures.
Mason added: “We actually played Falkirk a couple years ago in the cup and they knocked us out. They were in the league below us then, too.
“I remember back to that performance and it wasn’t ideal from us, so we won’t be taking them lightly.
“Like any game we need to make sure we put in a professional performance and, hopefully, that will get us through to the next round.”
The other north fixtures
The SWFL North sides are in League Cup group action, The fixtures are as follows: Buchan v Inverurie, Grampian v Elgin City, Huntly v Stonehaven, and Westdyke Thistle v Stonehaven.
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