Match winner Kayleigh Mackenzie believes Inverness Caley Thistle deserved to progress in Scottish Cup
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Inverness Caledonian Thistle match winner Kayleigh Mackenzie believed they deserved to knock Livingston out of the Scottish Cup.
The Caley Jags were the underdogs going into the tie at Millburn Academy yesterday afternoon, with the form book showing ICT had lost all of their previous three matches while Livi – top of the Championship table and threatening to run away with the title – had won eight league games in-a-row.
It looked as though the match might pan out exactly as expected, too, when Eve Sommerville gave the visitors a first-half lead after a smart turn past Laura MacIver sent her through one-on-one with Kim Jappy.
However, Inverness fought back. Mackenzie saw an attempt from the edge of the box parried by Livingston goalkeeper Charlotte Ferguson into the path of Natalie Bodiam for a tap in.
With both sides going in search of a winner as the second half wore on, more and more space opened up for attacking players, and with less than 10 minutes left Millie Carr and Iona MacArthur linked up to send Mackenzie through, and she smartly finished for the winner.
"It was our last home game of 2022, so to pull off a 2–1 win against the team at the top of the table, we're chuffed," she said.
"We 100 per cent deserved to win. From working in training on Tuesday and Thursday, we were building on working from the back, through the middle and up to the striker – and that showed on the pitch.
"We did exactly that, so I'm chuffed for the girls. We played some really good football, and we 100 per cent deserved it.
"At the start, Karen (Mason, manager) said she wasn't expecting anything out of this, we were going in as underdogs, so enjoy it and relax. That's exactly what we did, and I think we outplayed them."
With two defeats already against Livingston this season in the league – including one just a few weeks ago – it would have been easy for Inverness heads to drop when they went behind.
Related: Watch the full match, featuring second-half commentary from Inverness Courier sports reporter Andrew Henderson, here.
Instead, Caley Thistle displayed a resilience that had been lacking in recent matches to knuckle back down and claim the victory.
"That's what happened in the first few games of the season," Mackenzie recalled.
"Against Rossvale on the opening day, we were down and came back and won 5–4.
"It's the fighting spirit we need every week, so I'm proud of the girls.
"We need to build on this. This was in the Scottish Cup, and we need to take it into the league, so we'll build on it in training."
While Mackenzie has been ICT's top scorer time and time again in recent years, and again leads the way for the side this season, she has not been playing as an out-and-out striker.
Instead, she has moved deeper into a central midfield role, and while she proved she can still provide a threat in front of goal when needed that is no longer her priority.
"This season I'm not bothered about goals," Mackenzie added.
"I just want to help out the team as much as I can. It's moments like that we've been working towards in training, and we produced that, so I'm happy."
The draw for the fourth round of the Scottish Cup will be made tomorrow evening, with ties due to take place on Sunday, January 8.
