Stern test awaits Shetland as Scottish Cup adventure continues

SHETLAND will face their sternest test yet in the women’s Scottish Cup on Sunday – with a potential glamour tie with some of Scotland’s biggest names up for grabs.

The women’s football team will make another long journey south over the weekend as they prepare to face Rossvale WFC at 3pm on Sunday.

Rossvale, who are based just outside of Glasgow, will welcome the blues to the Kirkintilloch Community Sports Complex for the second round tie.

Shetland have faced three games already to get to this stage, while Rossvale – who are top of the Scottish women’s championship table – are preparing for their first Scottish Cup tie of the season.

After suffering a 1-0 reverse to Dryburgh Athletic in their opening league fixture, Rossvale have won seven games in a row – scoring 27 goals – and will go into the game full of confidence.

However so will Shetland, having already overcome Stewarton Annick, Aberdeen West End and Musselburgh Windsor to make it to the second round for the very first time.

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Including Sunday’s match, three of Shetland’s four Scottish Cup fixtures have been away from home – which have incurred high travel and accommodation costs for the team.

If Shetland can go one better and see off Rossvale this weekend then they will have the chance to draw one of Scotland’s 20 premier league teams.

Celtic, Rangers, Glasgow City, Hearts, Hibernian and Aberdeen will all enter the draw in round three, with all of the teams from the SWPL and SWPL2 joining the cup competition.

Shetland beat Stewarton Annick 3-0 in the first preliminary round of the Scottish Cup in mid-August in front of a large home crowd, before seeing off Aberdeen West End 2-1 with a late Roma Robertson winner.

The blues then overcame Musselburgh Windsor by the same scoreline in the first round proper, with a double from Freya Leslie seeing them through.