Inverness Caley Thistle Women hit perfect 10 against Stonehaven after seven months out of action
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Inverness Caledonian Thistle Women overcame gusty conditions to thrash Stonehaven 10–1 in their first pre-season friendly.
It was the first time the Caley Jags had been in action since November 1, and there seemed to be some rustiness in the early going which the wind did not help.
ICT adjusted more quickly though, taking the lead in the 20th minute through Hannah Gordon before Jana Brady doubled the advantage.
Stonehaven pulled one back before half time, but Kayleigh Mackenzie went straight up the other end and restored Caley Thistle’s two-goal lead – a moment that manager Karen Mason felt was important to the result.
“As soon as they get a goal you want to try and reset like it’s 0–0 all over again,” Mason explained.
“We had to make sure we started again on the stronger foot, and we managed that.
“Although they had chances, I don’t think they threatened us too much throughout the game, we were pretty solid defensively.”
The second half was one way traffic in Caley Thistle’s favour.
Mackenzie scored immediately from the restart, while Lorna MacRae added her name to the scoresheet, before Mackenzie fired home a free kick for her hat trick to make it 6–1.
Gordon claimed her second with a spectacular finish from distance, and MacRae used her explosive pace to follow suit.
Natalie Bodiam made it 9–1 before MacRae claimed a hat trick of her own with the final kick of the match.
Mason was delighted with the result, although she still saw some areas for improvement ahead of the 2021/22 season.
“It was a bit of a slow start for us, but once we got settled in and used to the surface and the win, I felt we played some really nice stuff,” she reasoned.
“There were some one-twos, and some great movement off and on the ball, so I’m really pleased to get lots of different scorers as well.
“It’s obviously disappointing to concede that one, but it’s to be expected – everyone’s a bit rusty, and scoring 10 almost negates that one.
“It’s just things to work on to make sure that when we do start the league, we don’t make those mistakes again.”
