Caley Thistle Women have played their final game of 2021 after Scottish Cup opponents Clyde pulled out of the competition.
The Cumbernauld side didn’t have enough available players to contest Sunday’s second-round tie at Broadwood, so forfeited the game, meaning ICT progress without kicking a ball.
That cancellation led to the potential of rearranging the Championship North fixture away to leaders Montrose, but the Angus club could not secure a facility or a team in such a short space of time, so that option was removed by league chiefs.
Therefore, last Sunday’s sweeping 5-0 home league victory over Buchan was the final chance for the Caley Jags to take to their field.
We were informed today by the SWF that Clyde are unable to field a team so have forfeited the match which see us go in to the hat for the next round.
From 2 games left this year to none in the space of a day, that is a wrap for us for 2021.
See you all in 2022!! pic.twitter.com/z47x3v0hit
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle WFC (@ICTWFC) December 9, 2021
They take a well-earned rest, safe in the knowledge they are third in the league, three points behind East Fife, but with plenty of fixtures to cram in from the New Year.
Fixtures switched then cancelled
Head coach Karen Mason explained the on-off nature of the week.
She said: “We were preparing for the cup game this week, thinking we could maybe change our starting 11 a bit, but we then got confirmation Clyde had forfeited.
“The league wanted to get our originally scheduled match against Montrose on the go, which changed our plans for training. But then we found out Montrose could not find a facility nor field a team for Sunday in such short notice, so that put that plan to pot.
“It means we now have the next round of the Scottish Cup on January 9, I believe.
GOAL! Great finish from Hannah Gordon through on goal to make it 5-0!
ICTWFC 5-0 Buchan 🔴🔵
📺Watch live here: https://t.co/PYtlMYtRci
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle WFC (@ICTWFC) December 5, 2021
“That will at least give us a game before we go back into the league matches. We also have to squeeze in the trip to Montrose and a home game with Dryburgh, which we have also missed out on.
“It doesn’t look like there will be many free Sundays from next month until the split in May, so there could be a bit of congestion when that comes around.”
Mixed feelings at cup cancellation
Mason is delighted to have a third-round tie to look forward to and the team will watch this weekend’s cup results with interest to consider potential opponents.
However, the boss admits the players would ideally have liked to have earned their place by defeating Championship South side Clyde, who are 10th in their 17-club division.
She said: “Being in the hat for the next round is always a bonus, albeit we would have wanted to round off the year with a win in the tie.
“At least it does save us a few hundred miles of travelling, especially the way the winter has been lately. We would, of course, rather have played, but it is out of our hands.”
Mason targets promotion push in ’22
Rhea Hossack, Kirsty Deans, Natalie Bodiam, Charlotte Arrowsmith and Hannah Gordon all hit the net last weekend to score their 5-0 league victory over Buchan.
On the back of their seventh win from 10 matches, Mason believes her team can regroup and come back all guns blazing in 2022.
She added: “We are still there or thereabouts and there is a long way to go.
“Had we played the Montrose game this week, it might have given a different perspective to it, but with that one delayed a bit longer it gives us a chance to regroup and get some of the players back who have been injured. Hopefully we will have our strongest team back before long.
“Our games against East Fife have been disappointing, as well as our first performance against Montrose, so there is plenty to still be worked on.
“We still have to play both of them, East Fife once and Montrose twice, so we are still in the running and we will keep firmly believing we can get the second spot, if not push Montrose tighter at the top as well.”
