Clint Lancaster is putting little pressure on Aberdeen Women for their second round Sky Sports Cup clash with Hibernian.
The SWPL teams enter the competition on Sunday, with the Dons travelling to Meadowbank to face Grant Scott’s side.
It was only a fortnight ago when the two teams met in the league and the Hibees prevailed as 5-0 winners following a difficult evening for the Dons, who endured injuries and a sending off.
Before the international break, Aberdeen suffered successive defeats in the SWPL: against Hibs and a 4-0 home loss to Celtic.
And Lancaster believes the cup contest against last season’s League Cup runner- up is a good opportunity for a fresh start.
The Dons manager said: “The cup game is probably a good thing to come back to because there is a a little less pressure on us.
“The priority for us, and like most teams, is the league, so the cup is a good match for me to maybe give some players – who haven’t had the chance to play – more minutes.
“We’ve had some girls away on international duty so maybe we can look at resting some of them, too.
“It’s just a chance for a little bit of rotation and a chance to see some of the other ones who haven’t had the chance to start.
“But it’s an opportunity for us to go down there and have a really good go at Hibs.
“We’ve got nothing to lose and they might be thinking the same because they will be aiming to push on in the top four in the league, so I’d expect both teams to be slightly changed from the 5-0 defeat.”
Lancaster hopes side can right wrongs upon their return to the capital by securing a positive result, but believes the scoreline last time around was an unfair reflection of his side’s performance.
He added: “We’d love to put things right in regard to beating them and getting into the next round of the competition.
Next up, Hibs (A) 🏆
– Sunday 1st October
– Meadowbank Stadium
– Kick-off, 12pm
– Sky Sports Cup 2nd Round pic.twitter.com/QVTG2ngCO3— Aberdeen FC Women (@AberdeenWomen) September 26, 2023
“We have to play as well as we can because we’re good enough (to win). We played really well against them last time, but everything that could go against us went against us in that match.
“It’s a fresh start and will need to go down there and start the game as well as we can.
“We have to take our chances. We created plenty of chances against them last time, but we didn’t take them – so if we can do that this time, let’s see what will happen.”
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