Caley Thistle Women manager Karen Mason is pleased with her side’s “rewarding” start to the SWF Championship season.
The Caley Jags host East Fife on Sunday – which was due to be played at the Caledonian Stadium, but has been moved to Millburn Academy because of a yellow weather warning – with a chance to win their fourth successive match in all competitions.
Two of of their last three wins have come in the league – with the most recent being a 3-0 victory over Renfrew – where Inverness sit third with 12 points after five games.
And Mason believes credit must go to her players, as she said: “The start we’ve made has been pleasing to see. I don’t think we could have asked for much more.
“The way we’re playing – and I’ve said it to the girls at training – it’s so impressive and it’s the form that we did show in spells last season. It is just coming more often at the moment.
“The way we are playing and the results we’re getting is down to the girls and the way they are taking everything on board. They are playing exactly how I want them to play.
“It has been really rewarding to stand back and watch the team play over the last few weeks.”
Unfortunately, due to the forecasted yellow weather warning we are no longer able to play at the stadium on Sunday. We will instead be back home to Millburn Academy with a slightly earlier 12.30pm kick off 🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/HLsooyPr0f
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle WFC (@ICTWFC) October 5, 2023
Mason has been particularly pleased to see Caley Thistle improve at the back, with her side currently boasting the joint second-best defence in the Championship.
She said: “Scoring goals has never been a problem for us, but we know last season we conceded too many.
“Having a solid defence at the moment is helping us win games and that was something that we had pinpointed at the start of the season.
“We want to make sure, first and foremost, that our goal difference was positive and then also making sure we’re making it harder for teams to score against us – which I think we have done so far.”
East Fife have taken some time to settle back into life in the Championship following relegation from SWPL 2 and travel to Inverness with six points from five games.
Mason said: “I have been surprised at their form since coming back down. I thought they would be in contention for bouncing straight back up.
“They got a good result at the weekend putting seven past Edinburgh City and that was one of the biggest results there has been in the league so far this season.
“That result showed that they are starting to click, so we know what they are capable of and they are a team we definitely won’t be taking lightly on Sunday.”
The other north fixtures
Westdyke could win their third successive match in all competitions when they host Renfrew at Lawsondale in the Championship.
The Westhill side have settled into life in the Championship well and sit fourth in the table with nine points.
In the SWFL North, there is a clash between the top two as league leaders Buchan host Huntly with both sides level on nine points. The rest of this weekend’s fifth-tier fixtures are: Stonehaven v Dyce, Grampian v Inverurie Locos, and Dryburgh Athletic v Arbroath.
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