THE week which will define Glasgow City's season, and that of arch rivals Hibernian, gets underway at noon today when the sides meet in the first semi-final of the SSE Scottish Women's Cup at Forthbank Stadium.
City then travel to Barcelona on Tuesday for their Champions League last 16, first leg, tie the next evening. Following that potentially memorable experience at the Mini Estadi they return home on Thursday to prepare for next Sunday's televised SBS SWPL1 showdown against Hibs at Petershill Park.
“Phew,” is probably how the players would succinctly describe it. Thereafter they have the second leg of the Champions League tie, the last league game against Spartans and a possible Scottish Cup final on November 4 to bring down the curtain on a hectic end to the season. As Scott Booth says, it's a schedule that would test a professional club, far less one packed with players who have day jobs or are in education.
If one of the latter, central defender Carly Girasoli, plays in the next three games she will bring her total to nine in just 28 days. Three of these were for the Scotland Under-17 side during their successful Euro qualifying campaign last week, so it's not as if the 16-year-old, who is still at school, has been playing in bounce games.
While Girasoli may be an extreme example, the demands on the City players over the coming weeks will be huge. The two games against Hibs are the ones which really matter because, with all respect, nobody expects the 11-times Scottish champions to beat Barcelona over two legs.
“It's a nice well deserved treat for the girls,” Booth says of Wednesday's tie. “It's a big ground in a good position close to the Camp Nou.”
That is not to say City won't be straining every muscle to keep the tie alive for the return at Petershill Park on November 1. If there is any encouragement to be drawn from what looks like an unequal struggle it is that BIIK-Kazygurt, who City should have beaten in the tournament last season, pushed Barcelona all the way in the previous round and only lost 4-3 on aggregate.
That said, the Spaniards played a weakened side in the first leg in Kazakhstan and were punished with a 3-1 defeat.
ALTHOUGH it has yet to be confirmed, it looks as if Scotland could have two teams in the 2019-20 Champions League after missing out in the current season. The provisional Association ranking for next season places Scotland in 11th place.
If confirmed, this year's SWPL1 winners will qualify automatically for the last 32, while the second-place team would go into the qualifying round. That particular issue will be resolved over the next two Sundays.
TODAY'S other SSE Scottish Women's Cup semi-final between Spartans and Motherwell, also at Forthbank Stadium, promises to be hard fought. Kick-off is at 4pm.
Debbi McCulloch has transformed the Edinburgh side's results since returning as head coach in the summer. Spartans have been beaten only once in her eight games, a 2-0 loss to high-scoring Hibs.
Relegation was averted when her side beat Forfar Farmington 6-0 in their last match. They had earlier reached the semi-finals with a 3-1 home win over Celtic.
That result denied Eddie Wolecki Black a last-four confrontation with his long-time deputy, and the man who has replaced him at Motherwell, Donald Jennow. The Lanarkshire club have had a fantastic season, winning SWPL2 at a canter, but Jennow believes Spartans are today's favourites as they have been playing better opposition week-in, week-out.
It's a hard game to predict because Motherwell have a number of players who have been accustomed to winning trophies in their careers. McCulloch just hopes the grass pitch – one of the best surfaces in Scotland – can handle two games following the recent heavy rain.
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