RANGERS head coach Amy McDonald hopes her players can build on their unexpected 4-1 win over Celtic when they meet Aberdeen in the SSE Scottish Women’s Cup tomorrow.
Holders Hibernian have a tricky away tie at Motherwell, who are second in SWPL2, while Spartans host Glasgow City. The draw means that two SWPL1 clubs will not reach the last 16.
Rangers produced the shock scoreline of the season so far when they won their rescheduled league game against Celtic at New Tinto Park on Wednesday night. It was by far the best result for McDonald since her recent appointment, although they did also beat Aberdeen by the same margin the last time they met on May 28.
“It’s not something I was expecting, but it was really pleasing to see,” McDonald said of the Celtic game. “We made some changes and Sarah Robertson, who has been doing very well in training, scored the first goal.
“It was a really well-rounded performance in terms of shape, discipline and focus.”
Rangers led 3-0 at the interval and McDonald said: “The second half was even more pleasing. When it went to 3-1 it was backs to the wall but the players kept fighting.
“It will give us more momentum because we want the girls to buy in to what we are trying to achieve.”
Aberdeen’s results so far this season have been dismal and they are still seeking their first league win after nine games.
“They have lost a few of their really experienced players last season,” McDonald pointed out, “and they’ve now got a relatively young squad.
“They’ll be frustrated and you can never underestimate a team going through difficulties. Their expectations will be higher than their results.”
Motherwell have yet to lose a game since appointing Greg Rodgers as head coach in April. They had lost their opening three under Mark Kirk, but are now Forfar Farmington’s closest challengers for promotion.
“I’m looking forward to the game, but obviously we’re the underdogs,” Rogers conceded. “I watched Hibs against Celtic in the League Cup final and they’re a strong team.”
Motherwell hope to have captain and former Scotland player Stacey Cook back following injury.
Glasgow City beat Spartans 5-0 in a league game recently and a number of injuries have contributed to the Edinburgh side dropping from third to sixth in the table.
City head coach Scott Booth said: “Our Scotland players were back on Thursday night and we had a really good session. The team has managed to get into a good flow recently.
“For us its about how well we play and making sure we’re professional. We played some really good stuff against Spartans in the last game and scored some good goals.”
Celtic, still smarting from the Rangers defeat, look to have a straightforward away assignment at East Fife, who are bottom of SWPL2.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here