Arthur McKay Scottish Cup Final Preview – Edinburgh University

Edinburgh University will make their first appearance in the Women’s Arthur McKay Scottish Cup Final on Saturday 25th May when they take on Milne Craig Clydesdale Western.
The university side have come on leaps and bounds since Scotland international and former Clydesdale Western striker Sam Judge took over as player-coach. A fourth place finish in Aberdeen Asset Management National League Division 1 last season was a vast improvement on previous form in the league and in the 2012/13 season, the students ran Saturday’s opponents close for the runners-up spot in Division 1, finishing third.
With the likes of international players Nikki Kidd, Sarah Robertson, Nicki Cochrane and Louise Campbell added to their ranks recently, they have become a force within the women’s game and have real talent to call upon within their ranks
Looking forward to this weekend’s final, player-coach Judge was keen to emphasise how much the club and players are looking forward to the occasion
“I think this is the first cup final for Edinburgh University, certainly since I’ve been a player in Scotland, so there’s a great buzz and excitement about the club at the moment. The girls are absolutely looking forward to the final on Saturday and with it being the university’s alumni weekend, it adds to the occasion. We’ll have a great support at Peffermill too, which is fantastic.”
The capital outfit reached Saturday’s final courtesy of a dramatic 6-5 penalty shoot-out win over defending champions and favourites Grove Menzieshill, which has boosted the confidence of the players massively. They have also scored 21 goals in the process of reaching Saturday’s finale.
Therefore, they fancy their chances against their opponents from Glasgow and the contests between them this season in the domestic league have been close fought affairs.
“We’ve played them twice this season and we were disappointed that we didn’t win the drawn match, particularly after a good first half. The games against Western are always close encounters and fairly tight matches, but we’re confident we can win”, said Judge.
“The expectations this season have increased after a good first year where we finished fourth in the league, so I knew my second season as coach would be challenging. But the players have been great this season and have really knuckled down. We’ve played some good hockey, scoring lots of goals, and the players are really enjoying themselves.”
For Judge, there also is the prospect of coming up against her former team-mates in a cup final to consider but her focus is firmly on delivering silverware to the university, “I’m sure there will be a few tackles flying in and there is always a bit of spice added when you’re up against your former team. I still have friends at the club but in the lead up to the final and on the day itself, that’s obviously put to one side and I’m determined to win the cup for Edinburgh University.”
Edinburgh University
Laura Mann, Sam Judge, Bethan Mann, Kirsten McIntosh, Louise Fleming, Ruth Moffett, Carly Bisset, Jen Sturgess, Nikki Kidd, Lucy Lanigan, Sarah Robertson, Camilla Lyttle, Heather Lang, Louise Campbell, Nicki Cochrane (probable line-up)
Road to the Final:
Last 32: Edinburgh University A 0-3 Edinburgh University
Last 16: Milne Craig Clydesdale Western A 3-8 Edinburgh University
QF: Inverleith 2-8 Edinburgh University
SF: Grove Menzieshill 2-2 Edinburgh University (Edinburgh University win 6-5 on pens)

Edinburgh University will make their first appearance in the Women’s Arthur McKay Scottish Cup Final on Saturday 25th May when they take on Milne Craig Clydesdale Western.

The university side have come on leaps and bounds since Scotland international and former Clydesdale Western striker Sam Judge took over as player-coach.

JudgeSamantha

A fourth place finish in Aberdeen Asset Management National League Division 1 last season was a vast improvement on previous form in the league and in the 2012/13 season, the students ran Saturday’s opponents close for the runners-up spot in Division 1, finishing third.

With the likes of international players Nikki Kidd, Sarah Robertson, Nicki Cochrane and Louise Campbell added to the squad this season, they have become a force within the women’s game and have real talent to call upon within their ranks.

Sarah Robertson

In the build up to this weekend’s final, player-coach Judge was keen to emphasise how much the club and players are looking forward to the occasion, “I think this is the first cup final for Edinburgh University, certainly since I’ve been a player in Scotland, so there’s a great buzz and excitement about the club at the moment.

“The girls are absolutely looking forward to the final on Saturday and with it being the university’s alumni weekend, it adds to the occasion. We’ll have a great support at Peffermill too, which is fantastic.”

The capital outfit reached Saturday’s final courtesy of a dramatic 6-5 penalty shoot-out win over defending champions and favourites Grove Menzieshill, which has boosted the confidence of the players massively. They have also scored 21 goals in the process of reaching Saturday’s finale.

Therefore, they fancy their chances against their opponents from Glasgow and the contests between them this season in the domestic league have been close fought affairs.

“We’ve played them twice this season and we were disappointed that we didn’t win the drawn match, particularly after a good first half. The games against Western are always close encounters and fairly tight matches, but we’re confident we can win”, said Judge.

“The expectations this season have increased after a good first year where we finished fourth in the league, so I knew my second season as coach would be challenging. But the players have been great this season and have really knuckled down. We’ve played some good hockey, scoring lots of goals, and the players are really enjoying themselves.”

For Judge, there also is the prospect of coming up against her former team-mates in a cup final to consider but her focus is firmly on delivering silverware to the university, “I’m sure there will be a few tackles flying in and there is always a bit of spice added when you’re up against your former team.

“I still have friends at the club but in the lead up to the final and on the day itself, that’s obviously put to one side and I’m determined to win the cup for Edinburgh University.”

Edinburgh University

Laura Mann, Sam Judge, Bethan Mann, Kirsten McIntosh, Louise Fleming, Ruth Moffett, Carly Bisset, Jen Sturgess, Nikki Kidd, Lucy Lanigan, Sarah Robertson, Camilla Lyttle, Heather Lang, Louise Campbell, Nicki Cochrane (probable line-up)

Road to the Final:

Last 32: Edinburgh University A 0-3 Edinburgh University

Last 16: Milne Craig Clydesdale Western A 3-8 Edinburgh University

QF: Inverleith 2-8 Edinburgh University

SF: Grove Menzieshill 2-2 Edinburgh University (Edinburgh University win 6-5 on pens)

 

 

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