Spartans ladies savour prospect of third cup final in a row as they head for Aberdeen

A goal by Sarah Ewens secured their passage into the final at the expense of Celtic on Wednesday. The Ainslie Park girls have now reached the final in three successive seasons and, having lost the previous two, hope it’s third time lucky.

Head Coach Debbi McCulloch commented: “The performance was amazing and I told the girls that moments like this don’t come often. They need to enjoy, savour and remember them. Every player worked so hard and stuck to the game plan.

“Though it wasn’t the prettiest performance, we deserved to win and look forward to facing Glasgow City.”

Elsewhere tomorrow, Hibernian Ladies aim to keep the pressure on league leaders Glasgow City when they face Falkirk at Dunipace Juniors (kick-off 4.00pm) and winger Kirsty Smith believes they can’t be complacent.

The 18-year-old said: “Everyone will expect us to win comfortably, but any team can become a threat if our performance drops from the usual intensity, so we must remain focused for the whole 90 minutes and play how we have been.

“We set a high standard last weekend. It is important that we maintain that and perform consistently well throughout this season.”

Hutchison Vale face Hamilton Academical at John Cumming Stadium, Carluke (kick-off 2.15pm).