Caley Thistle Women manager Karen Mason says her side are aiming for silverware ahead of a return to SWF Championship and League One Cup action.
The Caley Jags host Ayr United in their quarter-final clash on Sunday, having beaten Falkirk 6-0 when they entered the competition in the previous round.
A place in the semi-finals is the aim for Mason’s side, who will host current SWPL leaders Rangers in the Scottish Cup – the other domestic cup competition – in January.
The Caley Thistle manager said: “This cup is definitely one we have looked to try and prioritise this season, as well as the league.
“Our aim is to get a top three finish and reach a cup final, and this cup is the most realistic one for us to potentially go and do that.
“Our build-up to the game has been the same because we want to try and win every match that we play, but we know this competition has a shorter lifespan and we know we can’t afford to mess up.
“If we drop points in the league, we can try to claw it back the next Sunday, but you can’t do that in the cup.”
But Mason says a place in the last four will not be easy as she hailed their upcoming opponents as one of the toughest teams she has come across in recent campaigns.
She is expecting a difficult game against Ayr, who sit third in the SWF Championship table – only two points and one place behind the Caley Jags.
Mason said: “I have always said that I think Ayr have been one of the best footballing sides over the last couple of seasons in the Championship.
“When we played them in the second week of the season that was the first time that we had beaten them. They’re a strong team and will be very difficult to beat – we will have to be at our best.”
Caley Thistle are currently on an impressive run of form having won their previous four matches in the Championship.
Mason’s side have also scored 41 goals, conceding only three, in their last five games across all competitions, but she does not want to see any complacency from the Caley Jags in their League Cup encounter.
Our final competitive game of 2023 is on Sunday when we host Ayr Utd in the Quarter Final of the Championship & League One Cup 🏆 pic.twitter.com/znk7MWt0ZE
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle WFC (@ICTWFC) November 20, 2023
She said: “Our form has been great for confidence, but if you look at who we have played we have to be realistic in that they’ve been fairly straightforward games for us.
“We know it’s not going to be like that against Ayr. We can’t think we’re going to go and batter them, but we can take confidence from our recent performances because some of our football has been really good.”
Meanwhile, Westhill-based side Westdyke host Renfrew at Lawsondale in their SWF Championship and League One Cup quarter-final.
The other north fixtures
There is also SWFL Cup action this weekend as the first round takes place following the group stages.
The fixtures involving north teams are: Inverurie Locos v Buchan, Elgin City v Grampian, Dyce v Arbroath, and Stonehaven v Huntly.
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