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Caley Thistle Women looking to avoid three consecutive SWF Championship defeats

Karen Mason's side host Renfrew on Sunday following back-to-back league defeats against Rossvale and Dryburgh Athletic.

Caley Thistle Women in action in the Scottish Cup against Rangers.
Caley Thistle Women in action. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson.

Caley Thistle Women are hoping to avoid uncharted territory and not suffer three consecutive league defeats for the first time this season.

Karen Mason’s side host Renfrew in the SWF Championship on Sunday, following back-to-back losses against league leaders Rossvale and Dryburgh Athletic.

The defeat to Dryburgh in Dundee last week saw ICT remain in third – level on points but with a game in hand over fourth-placed East Fife, but are now four behind Ayr United in second.

“It is pretty much the main thing (avoiding three consecutive defeats) for us,” said Caley Thistle manager Mason.

“We had hoped to bounce back right away from the Rossvale game against Dryburgh, but it seems like we’ve lost a bit of spark and we can’t quite put our finger on it.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Karen Mason.
Caley Thistle boss Karen Mason. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

“We’re just not clicking going forward at the moment – and that is something we have not really struggled with this season.

“It is definitely going to be our intention to stop the rot as soon as we can because we don’t want to fall completely out of contention at the top of the table.

“Renfrew did us a favour by beating East Fife last weekend, otherwise they would have jumped ahead of us and we would have found ourselves in a worse position.

“The pressure is on again this weekend. Handling the pressure when a game really counts is something we need to work on. We need a mentality where we try and develop winners.”

Mason wants consistency from Caley Thistle Women squad and displays

Squad selection issues has not helped Caley Thistle’s cause in recent games, as Mason added: “Unfortunately we have had injuries week in week out.

“The squad has been changing and the starting XI has had to be changed, so I would quite like to get  some consistency back.

“I’d just like for us to go back to basics as well. Getting the ball moving quicker, tidy up our defence, cutting out the mistakes which seem to cost us and getting the ball in the back of the net again.”

ICT will be without defender Kayleigh Mackenzie for the foreseeable future after suffering a knee injury, while Lauren Donald will play her last game for the club against Renfrew.

“She hurt her knee on Sunday at Dryburgh and she is going to be out for four to six weeks,” said Mason.

“It maybe could be longer, but we just have to wait until more investigation is done – hopefully, she can get back within that timeframe.

Caley Thistle Women defender Kayleigh Mackenzie
Caley Thistle Women defender Kayleigh Mackenzie. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson.

“She is going to be a big miss. She’s been very consistent most weeks and she’s really taken to being a centre-half. Hopefully, it is a speedy recovery and is back before we know it.

“Lauren Donald is going away travelling to Australia, so Sunday will be her last game for us.

“We’ve stepped up some of our under-18s to boost our squad up a bit, but we are getting a bit low on numbers again.”

The other fixtures

Meanwhile, Westhill side Westdyke will be looking to bounce back from a heavy 9-1 defeat to Rossvale when they host Dryburgh in the Championship.

In the SWFL North, there is a top of the table clash as leaders Inverurie Locos, who boast a 100% record in the league this term, host second-placed Grampian.

The other fifth-tier fixtures are: Dyce v Stonehaven, Elgin City v Huntly, Westdyke Thistle v Buchan, and Arbroath v Dryburgh Athletic.

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