Kate Cooper insists St Mirren Women’s title charge remains on track despite a draw with Kilwinning Ladies at the SMiSA Stadium.
The Buddies, who sit at the top of the SWF League One table, were held by the Ayrshire team on Sunday afternoon in what was another monumental occasion for the team playing at the venue.
Out of the squad of 18, only two players had previously played at the SMiSA prior to Sunday – and head coach Cooper admits that may have been a factor.
“Stadium games are hard because sometimes the occasion can take over from the game itself,” she told the Paisley Daily Express: “We tried to really limit that.
“But we did have discussions and the players will accept that they didn’t stick to the game plan that we asked them to do.
“Sometimes that happens but you have to hand it to Kilwinning as they made it difficult. The weather didn’t help and it [the style of game] suited their game more than ours.
“For us, overall in the game, we had most of the possession and we tried to play football but it didn’t quite work out for us. We should have had the game out of sight in the first half and we need to be more clinical but that is part of the [learning] curve.
“If you aren’t going to take your chances then you might be punished and that was something we spoke about at half-time. Winning the league is still in our hands. But the day itself was a great one and to see as many people turn out for it shows the progress that the women’s game is making.”
Nikki Lavery, 17, has been in great goalscoring form for the Buddies since joining in the summer. She was on target again at the weekend and Cooper admits she is impressed by the teenager’s composure and calmness.
“She has been great and ever since she came in she has really stepped up her game,” she added. “She is a great talent that we have in our squad. To have the composure she has got at her age speaks testament to how well she is going to do.”
Saints face Queen of the South at Palmerston this Sunday. However, there was disappointment for Saints Women yesterday when they were removed from the Scottish Cup after fielding an ineligible player in their first-round win over Ross County.
They were due to play Bonnyrigg Rose on November 3 but the Staggies have been reinstated. St Mirren’s men’s ‘B’ team were removed from the SPFL Trust Trophy earlier this season for a similar player ineligibility error.
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