Inverness Caley Thistle under-18 girls defeat Grampian to lift North League Cup trophy at Highland League outfit Buckie Thistle’s ground
Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s under-18 women’s team have lifted their League Cup after a 4-2 victory over Grampian.
The match, taking place at Buckie Thistle’s Victoria Park, saw the Caley Jags go 1-0 down just minutes into the wind-affected contest.
Inverness recovered well, though, turning the game on its head through goals from Brooke Henry and Erin Campbell midway through the first half.
Ruby Younger then scored directly from a corner kick to make it 3-1 to Caley Thistle going into half time, with the wind due to be at their backs after the restart.
However, Grampian pulled a goal back midway through the second half, but instead of putting pressure on the ICT players’ shoulders it spurred them on to get over the line, with Demi Hendry finding the net to seal a first trophy of the season for the Highlanders.
Head coach Ally Ewan was delighted with the outcome, saying Inverness were worthy winners as they enacted a bit of revenge on the side that knocked them out of the Challenge Cup earlier in the year.
Now, he wants them to go on and complete a trophy double by adding the league crown to their collection.
“We’re all absolutely delighted,” he explained.
“It was blustery conditions right across the park which kind of spoiled the game to be honest, but they did exceptionally well.
“The girls really equipped themselves well, particularly after going a goal down and then again in the second half when Grampian started coming back into the game. We managed to push on with our fitness and get the results.
“In the last 15 minutes they really came to life. Grampian had scored to make it 3-2, but instead of them getting the impetus to come forward it seemed to spur us on.
“We started to cut them open, and showed a wee bit more composure to play with the ball on the ground against the wind, which is quite difficult to do, and we got the goal that killed the game.
“We thoroughly deserved to win in the end I thought, and now our main focus is the league title.
“I would like to do the league and cup double. I really want to push for that now.”
Head coach Ewan worked in the Highland League for years, having spells at Fort William, Lossiemouth and Clachnacuddin, but had been out of football for four years before being asked about returning with the Caley Thistle girls’ academy.
He was somewhat hesitant at first, but has been blown away by the talent on show in the girls’ section, having particularly worked with the under-16 and under-18 groups over the last couple of years.
“I have been really impressed with the standard since I came to the club,” he added.
“Honestly, I’ve yet to put a drill down in front of the girls that they can’t do – I would argue they are better than the guys sometimes.
“We’re training at levels that I would have been at with the guys - certainly with their physical fitness and their technical ability.
“We work hard, and the girls seem to absorb it and do well, drills very rarely break down, so I’ve been very impressed.
“I had been out of football for about four years when I got the chance to come and join them two years ago, and to be honest I kind of scoffed at girls football.
“I had been watching the Lionesses though, because there was such a big hype about it, so I went down and watched a game and I was really impressed.
“When I finally got involved with the training, I was blown away by how good they are.
“The older they become, the more aggressive they become as well. It starts to become quite feisty, so it’s really good.”
