Aberdeen Women co-manager Emma Hunter believes a win against Hearts on Sunday would help boost confidence ahead of an important run of games.
The Dons will return to Pittodrie, after their homecoming match against Rangers in March this year, to play Glasgow Women on October 30.
Hunter and Gavin Beith’s side play two matches in SWPL 1 before then – starting with a trip to Hearts, followed by a midweek home clash with Hibernian on Wednesday.
And Hunter reckons, while preparing for Pittodrie is in their mind, picking up a first win of the season – which they aim to do at Hearts – is their biggest priority.
Aberdeen have picked up just one point from their opening six games, which came in a 2-2 draw with Partick Thistle at Balmoral Stadium.
However, of those games, they have played all three of the league’s full-time professional sides – Rangers, Glasgow City and Celtic.
Hunter said: “It would bring confidence before we play at Pittodrie, but equally, it’s a really important game just because where we’re at at the moment.
“We’re not thinking too far ahead – obviously knowing we’re playing at Pittodrie means there’s a lot of preparation and a lot of talking going into it.
“But these next two games are vitally, vitally important, and that’s not just because we’re playing at Pittodrie. We’re low in confidence and we need the points.
“A win would pick us right up again and that’ll help with our season in general. We’ve got two good opportunities to go and win the next two games.
“If we do that then it takes the pressure off us a wee bit and, hopefully, we can build on that momentum going into the game at Pittodrie and beyond.
“That’s the biggest thing – taking the pressure off – because it means we could go there with confidence and enjoy the experience of playing at the stadium.”
A winnable run of games coming up for the Dons
The head-to-head record between the two sides from last season swings in Hearts’ favour, with the Dons winning once and losing twice.
Eva Olid’s side have invested more for this season – putting players on professional contracts for the first time, which has allowed them to improve things on the pitch.
The Dons co-manager is expecting a tough game at the Oriam against the Jambos, but has backed her squad to take all three points back north.
Hunter said: “Hearts have signed experienced players and players from abroad, so they’re definitely stronger than what they were last year.
“They’ve definitely started to create a style of play, but I still think we’re really similar and, if we can put on a good performance, we can beat them.
“We’ve talked a lot this week about how we can hurt them – and we plan to do that.”
FIXTURES | After the international break, the SWPL returns 😍
Here are all the details for Sunday's games in the SWPL and SWPL 2 ⬇ pic.twitter.com/L889bHR20Q
— Scottish Women's Premier League (@SWPL) October 12, 2022
The clash with Hearts marks the beginning of an extended run of winnable games for Aberdeen as they go on to play Hibs, Glasgow Women, Motherwell, Dundee United and Spartans.
Hunter reckons those games will prove to be a vital point in the season as the Dons need to start beating teams who she expects to be in and around them in the table.
She added: “We’ve talked about this as a group, because where we’re at now – points wise, too – we’re not a million miles off it.
“This part of the season is really important. Off the back of it, we go into another tough run of games, that’s what this league is like.
“We need to focus now and put points on the board where we think we should be doing that and start to climb the table.
“It’s a really good opportunity to showcase what Aberdeen are really about.”
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