It’s a trip to Glengarry this weekend – how is the mood in the squad ahead of the game?

The team are feeling good. We were definitely a bit nervous ahead of our first meeting with Glengarry earlier in the season. We hadn’t faced them in about 8 years so most of the team didn’t know what to expect. Going into the away fixture, we know more about their style of play and the pace that we need to be ready for.

It’ll your first game in 5 weeks – will the girls be raring to go after an extended break?

I hope so! It’s definitely been strange to have had such a gap in fixtures, but the girls have kept working away over the summer. We’ve always had the kind of squad where players are based all over the country, and so we are well-conditioned when it comes to managing our individual training and fitness which helps during bigger breaks like this one.

How have you found the new National division format? Has it been good playing different teams on a more regular basis?

We’ve been enjoying it this year! We’ve seen a lot of change over the last couple of seasons, with a lot of younger players breaking into the squad. This has been fantastic as they are an incredibly talented group of girls, and so getting the chance to play against better-matched teams has given them the chance to really build their confidence and find their stride.

A 3-3 draw earlier on in the season shows how evenly matched the two sides are – what did you make of them that day, what do you think their strengths are and how can you get at them?

It was an exciting fixture back in April and I was really proud of the team for holding on to the draw as the Glengarry girls were pushing hard, especially in the last 20. They have struck a really nice balance this year in their squad where they have a mixture of extremely experienced, strong players alongside younger girls who are fit, fast and eager to prove themselves. We are in a similar position this year and so the last game really centred around individual battles. I think it will be the same on Sunday, and so we need to ensure that we are each giving it 100%. It should be a really exciting game.

Whilst goals have been hard to come by, Ardnamurchan have the joint 3rd best defensive record in the league – what do you think has been key to this?

We spent a good few years playing against teams far more experienced, and that constant pressure has built defenders who are relentless and cause problems for some of the most talented forwards in the game. Lisa Ford has had a strong presence in defence for many years and is having a solid season. Her influence on the squad has also meant that we are seeing younger players like Anna MacAulay and Louise Buchanan really come into their own at the back which has brought more depth into our defence. This, combined with great keeping by Beth and Lyndsay alike, has definitely helped us a lot this season.