“There’s absolutely no room for complacency.” Manager Debbi McCulloch sounds a timely warning to her side who face the 310 mile round trip to take on Buchan Ladies at Maud Pleasure Park this Sunday.
Spartans come off the back of an emphatic 16-0 victory at home against Forfar last weekend however McCulloch is wary of the task in hand against a side desperate to kick-start their own campaign.
“When you have such a large victory and you play so well, I think there is a fear that players can become complacent however we made sure training was intense this week to ensure we maintain our fitness levels and keep the sharpness in our play and the players have responded to that well.”
McCulloch added, “We played there last season and got a result and the girls know that it’s another important three points on offer as we continue to focus on achieving a top six pre-split finish.
“I’m looking forward to the game and I’m sure Buchan are too. They’ll want to make a statement and will be keen to record their first victory of the season and we’ll have to take our ‘A game’ on the road with us on Sunday to take anything out of it.”
The game against Buchan takes place at the home of Maud Juniors, with the Spartans side facing the relatively unfamiliar position of playing on a grass pitch. It was a happy hunting ground for the Ainslie Park side last season, recording a 1-2 win in the SWPL Cup quarter final, with Captain Katie Reilly (pictured) grabbing the winning goal.
Defender Kirsty Hamilton is looking forward to the challenge. “As long as we maintain composure and consistency over the 90 minutes, I’m hopeful we can return to Edinburgh with a win. I think some of it will depend on how we adjust after the long drive there and of course we’ll be playing on a grass pitch.
“Although we had a big victory last Sunday, we’ve had a challenging start to the season and no-one in the squad is getting ahead of themselves. We had a job to do on Sunday, we’ve set ourselves expectations for the next few games and together, we’ll focus on achieving those objectives.”
The match kicks off at 2pm at Maud Juniors FC. Maud Juniors FC pitch is located at Maud Pleasure Park which is just off Deer Road West B9029 (the road heading out of Maud towards New Deer).