Ross County’ under-14 girls lift League Cup trophy in Golspie as senior side seals SWFL Cup progress after draw with Elgin City
Ross County’s under-14 girls lifted the North League Cup last weekend after the most dramatic of finals.
Played before the senior Highlands and Islands League Cup in Golspie, County took on Forres in what looked like a nervy encounter early on.
It was County who took the lead though, breaking the deadlock in the 20th minute when Kara Mackay slotted home after some good work from Alex Pettigrew.
Perhaps freed up by that, the second half saw both teams push forward more often and create chances, with Forres drawing level through a long-range effort.
Forres would then take the lead with five minutes left on the clock, but there was a late twist when Eilidh McWhirter made a late run to connect with Emelie Macnamara’s corner to fire into the net and force extra time.
With no further breakthrough, the cup final would be decided by a penalty shoot-out.
McWhirter, Macnamara and Megan Colson each converted their spot kicks as the shoot-out went to sudden death. Forres missed theirs, and Macnamara stepped up again to score the winning penalty, sparking celebratory scenes among the County girls.
Although unable to get another victory, Ross County’s senior women’s team also had reason to celebrate as they secured top spot in their League Cup group with a 3-3 draw at Elgin.
Knowing ahead of kick off that a point would be enough to progress as group winners, some doubts may still have crept in when Elgin took the lead inside the opening minute.
That may have been a valuable wake-up call though, as County began to find their rhythm, and Rhea Hossack continued her prolific start to life at the club by scoring twice in quick succession to turn the game on its head.
Elgin would level before half time, only for Hossack to complete her hat-trick after the restart - and she could have had more as she hit the woodwork twice.
The hosts were not done, though, restoring parity once again with 20 minutes to go. They could even have gone ahead late on, but missed a penalty in what was a reprieve for County.
With no further goals the match ended 3-3, which meant County secured top spot in the group to send them straight into the last 16, with the point also proving valuable for Elgin who progressed as group runners up.
This weekend County and Elgin are due to do battle once again, this time in the opening round of SWFL North league fixtures at Grant Park in Alness.
