St Johnstone WFC are going for glory in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup on Sunday afternoon.
And winger Jodie Ovens would love to continue scoring form to help fire the Perth side further into the competition.
Ovens, who netted in last Sunday’s league defeat to Stirling University, has quickly turned attention to Kilmarnock.
Saints head for Rugby Park expecting a tight encounter and, if previous meetings are anything to go by, that will certainly be the case again this weekend.
Both teams ply their trade in the Scottish Women’s Premier League 2, with the Perth side currently one point worse off.
“All our recent games against Kilmarnock have been well contested with results swinging both ways, so it should be a good game,” Ovens told the Perthshire Advertiser.
“We were unlucky to lose against them in the League Cup, even after going down to 10 players for most of the game.
“The Scottish Cup is always a special occasion and we are confident we will get a result and will be working hard in training to ensure that.”
Saints are determined to bounce back from last weekend’s disappointing 2-1 defeat away at Stirling University.
The match had started brightly with Ovens opening the scoring after just 10 minutes.
That lead was almost doubled just four minutes later when a Morgan Steedman header crashed off the post.
Soon, however, the hosts were level following some neat play which saw the ball delivered in from the left.
Shana McPhail was in space to fire past Perth goalkeeper Rebecca Cameron.
The second half witnessed more Stirling pressure and they nudged ahead in a similar fashion to the first goal.
A ball played in from the left made its way to the back post where McPhail reacted quickest to knock the ball home from a few yards out.
Saints got forward, certainly, but failed to trouble the Stirling net in the closing stages.
At the other end, a remarkable double save from Cameron and a last ditch clearance from Ellie May Cowie avoided the students’ lead being extended.
Reflecting on the result and performance, Ovens said: “Coming off a run of back to back wins had definitely given us a lot of confidence going into the game.
“Credit to the managers and the team because we have been working hard in training and, the two games before Stirling, we showed what we are capable of and we are playing some really good football.
“Unfortunately against Stirling we lost our composure a bit and struggled to play our own game.
“Stirling, however, executed their game plan well and deserved the win. It’s a very frustrating loss for the team but we move onto this week.”
Finding the back of the net was pleasing for Ovens but, of course, it is all the sweeter when there is a victory to go with it.
“It’s always a great feeling to score but the win is always the priority,” she said.
“It was a great ball from Alix (Moodie) which landed just in front of me. She did all the hard work, I just needed to slot it into the corner. My recent goals have all come from great assists.”
Kick-off at Rugby Park against Kilmarnock on Sunday is 4pm.
