Caley Thistle Women manager Karen Mason says her side will be ready to return to league business when they host Hutchison Vale.
The Caley Jags return to SWF Championship action on Sunday off the back of a 3-2 win against Edinburgh Caledonia in the second-round of the league cup last week.
Mason believes that while the cup victory wasn’t a performance “to write home about” it was an important win that they will look to build on in the league.
This week’s fixtures mark the beginning of the second round of league fixtures. Inverness won twice, drew once and lost four times in the first seven games.
Mason said: “It’s back to business in the league this week. The performance in the cup on wasn’t one to write home about, but we progressed which was our main objective.
“We’re keen to get back into the league now and hopefully just see some more improvements in our performances.
“We need to try and find consistency – which is what we’re desperately needing. We’ve got another run of league games before the cup, so it would be great to be consistent.
“With the games being games at home, we have to take advantage of that. Hopefully we can kick on in the league before playing Dryburgh in the cup quarter-final.”
‘We know what we need to do’
In the first meeting between the two sides, Inverness threw away a 3-1 lead as Hutchison Vale ended up winning 4-3 in Edinburgh.
The Caley Thistle boss said that while that game ended in defeat, it was a game that provided valuable information, which they will aim to put to good use this weekend.
An Inverness win would see them move onto 10 points, and they would leapfrog the Edinburgh side, who currently sit in fourth with nine points.
Mason added: “They were definitely beatable. We were 3-1 up in that game and allowed them to come back into it via mistakes of our own.
“So, we definitely know what we need to do to beat them. We weren’t overwhelmed by how they played in a particular way, but it was early on in the season.
“We know what we need to do, it’s just whether we can do it or not. It’s down to that big question again.”
We return to Championship action on Sunday when @HutchieValeWFC visit Millburn Academy. All supporters are very welcome, 12.30pm kick off 🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/3eoxcOKiNS
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle WFC (@ICTWFC) October 10, 2022
For the Hutchison Vale clash, Inverness will be without several key players, which has often been the case for Mason’s side so far this season.
They will be without top goal scorer Kayleigh Mackenzie, Julia Scott, and captain Kirsty Deans, who sustained a rib injury while playing Shinty.
Mason said: “It’s not been a very consistent time for the squad. We’ve not really known who is going to be in from one week to the next.
“But hopefully it won’t take long to get the players who are injured back into the fray again.”
In League One, unbeaten and joint-top side Westdyke Ladies host Stenhousemuir, while Grampian have been awarded their tie with Gleniffer Thistle.
