The Scottish Cup. A match to defy the odds, an opportunity to etch our place in the illustrious history books, and a chance to step proudly onto the turf of Hampden Park
The dreams of the Scottish Cup are vast, and are shared collectively amongst the women of steel, who stare down nine-time victors Glasgow City in the Third Round this weekend. Vice-Captain Chelsie Watson ensures that the squad need to be fearless if they are to secure their place in the next round.
“We need to be fearless but disciplined,” Watson noted.
“We have to believe in ourselves, trust our ability and the unity between the squad, and stay focused for the 90-minutes.
“The belief is there. We have achieved two Scottish Cup Semi-Final’s together as a club, so we recognise that we are capable of reaching those vital stages. It’s a one-off game and anything can happen if we showcase the standards, we are capable of.
“We know if we bring our best and stick together, we can make it really competitive, and make that dream a reality.
The luck of the draw hasn’t been favourable to the women of steel this campaign, with Motherwell facing defending Scottish Women’s Premier League champions Hibernian in the Sky Sports Cup before drawing league leaders Glasgow City in the forthcoming Scottish Cup Third Round, but Watson insists that with the perfect preparation, the team can achieve a historic result.
“Preparing for every eventuality is monumental ahead of a game like this,” Watson added.
“We’ve worked on our shape, adapted our gameplan, and really instilled the methods of how we can hurt them. The main message has been to trust our ability, stick firmly to our gameplan, and play with confidence.
“We need to be compact without the ball and brave with it. If we stay disciplined and make the most of our moments, we give ourselves a real chance of defying the odds.
There remains a sense of familiarity and a feeling of redemption around Sunday’s encounter in Springburn, after the sides contested their last Scottish Cup tie in the 2024 Semi-Final at the National Stadium, Hampden Park.
City secured a commanding four-nil victory on that occasion, with Sofia Maatta, Nicole Kozlova, and a Katie Lockwood double earning Leanne Ross’ side a place in the Final against Rangers. Watson, who partnered teammate Jenna Penman in the Motherwell backline that day, recounts the feeling at full-time.
“We were all absolutely gutted,” Watson explained.
“We came into the game as underdogs without any expectations set on us, so for a lot of the game we played with a real freedom. At one-nil down, we had moments to equalise, and were assured on the ball, but when the second goal went in, it just became an uphill battle.
“We took a lot of confidence from that performance, and similarly this season, we have competed well against the full-time teams, and have been unfortunate to have left empty-handed.
“We’ve shown we can compete with full-time teams in spells, the recent meeting with Rangers being the perfect example. We fought Rangers closely, remaining one-behind at half-time, but we couldn’t capitalise on our chances in the second-half, and a team of their quality will punish that.
“These performances give us belief though. The results haven’t always reflected the effort and the desire the squad have put into these games, but the performances are progressing, and we are all motivated to build on that this weekend.”
A fortnight break from the domestic calendar provided the women of steel with the opportunity to regroup and refocus ahead of this weekend’s tie at Petershill Park. Watson discussed the importance of the additional time together as a group.
“It’s been really important for us,” Watson emphasised.
“Its been a really positive week on the training pitch. The break let everyone reset a bit, recover, and return to training with an extra bit of sharpness. Its been really positive, and we’ve also got both Lily [Boyce] and Sophie [Black] to come back into the squad after representing Scotland, so we are all in a good place as a team.
“You can feel the squad becoming more ready and prepared for the Scottish Cup this weekend, and we hope to see as many Motherwell fans as possible supporting us in the stands.”