DUFCW | CELTIC (A)

DUFCW make the trip to New Broomfield tomorrow to take on Celtic in the Scottish Power Women’s Premier League.

Following on from Wednesday’s well-earned draw with Hibernian, Graeme Hart and his side will visit the Scottish Cup holders hoping to build on this.

As a final note to Wednesday, it was almost two years to the day since United were defeated 10-2 by the Edinburgh side in the SWPL Cup and Hart was delighted to see the progress made since that evening.

“It’s something that we’re proud of and a mark of where we’ve come as a club. Some of the players were involved in that game that were involved on Wednesday so it’s a real credit to them in particular but everyone involved can be pleased as it shows we’re improving and getting better.”

Abbie Cusack made her senior debut on Wednesday and after an impressive performance, the head coach was full of praise for her.

“I thought Abbie was excellent, I touched on it in my post-match interview, she came on in a very difficult game for a player that’s playing well in Summer Christie. She’s a player that we’ve known about for a while, watching her develop, we watched her a couple of times when we were watching Leigha Dobbins last year and she caught our eye then as well.”

Straight after the final whistle, Hart and his backroom staff were already planning Sunday’s clash with Celtic and hoping that the side could continue their last two performances against full-time teams.

“We take each game as it comes, our attention turned to Celtic as soon as full time went on Wednesday so we’ve been into training for a recovery session ahead of the game. We will prepare and focus on where Celtic can hurt us, which is a lot of areas as we know how good they are.”

“If we go in like we have for the last two games against top opposition then we give ourselves a chance, that’s all we can ask for from the girls and we will see where it takes us on Sunday.”

Midfielder Tash Bruce found herself on the sidelines just before the season kicked off following a knee injury suffered in training. Wednesday’s clash was the first match squad she was involved in since returning and echoed the positive thoughts regarding the point gained and her return.

“It’s good to be back, first and foremost it was a really positive result for the squad but it was good to be a part of the squad. I missed the last couple of weeks which coincided with the start of the season but I’m really excited with the group of players we’ve got. My rehabs went really well, the programme was really intense but I’m just itching to kick on from here.”

Bruce reckons having two games in a week can be difficult for players but believes the side has the quality that can help them battle through.

“I think having midweek games makes it quite challenging so we’ve done a lot of prep on our defensive shape. Obviously, we’re playing top opposition in this league but we’re also not underestimating the quality we’ve got in the squad so we’re also looking at transitional movements and how we can go about exploiting Celtic’s weaknesses.”

Following her return to the team, the former Aberdeen midfielder is looking to force her way back into starting contention over the coming weeks and help the side progress.

“For me, my aim is just to build on performances from last season, obviously I came in during the January transfer window so I’m just looking to have a more consistent performance and be in the squad. Like with everyone else, starting XI would be a dream and hopefully, I can contribute to a successful season.”

Sunday’s game at New Broomfield kicks off at 2pm and tickets can be bought HERE!