HAYLEY LAUDER believes Glasgow City's flawless start to the season will be the springboard for beating Hibernian in tonight's SWPL Cup final at the Pennycars Stadium in Airdrie.
The 12-time champions have won all eight opening league games, as well as the three ties which took them to the final. In the process they have scored 61 goals and conceded just four, albeit they only beat Hibs 1-0 in their league encounter at Ainslie Park.
“Last year we didn't play particularly well at times but found a way to win,” Lauder said. “This season we're implementing a style Scott [Booth] wants us to play and you can see we've got a different dimension to us.”
Lauder helps provide the ammunition for strikers Kirsty Howat and Clare Shine, who have scored 26 league and cup goals between them already this season. Former Celtic player Howat is in a rich vein of form, while Irish internationalist Shine has returned to the club after notching all the goals in a 3-0 Scottish Cup final win over Hibs in 2015.
“Kirsty had a bit of a slow start last season, but this year she's flying,” Lauder said. “She's improved her whole game and is a real focal point within our team. She's someone you can rely on to change the game for you and Clare compliments her.”
Lauder, who is closing in on 100 Scotland caps, is fully fit again after concerns that an injury might jeopardise her chances of being available for Scotland's World Cup squad.
“I had a muscle spasm in my lower back which was giving me pain down my leg,” the 28-year-old explained. “I didn't feel great in myself because at the time there were only six weeks until the World Cup, but we have great medical staff.
“They put your mind at ease straight away and were correct with everything they said. It only took about 10 days for it to settle down so I was delighted with that.”
While City's early season form makes them favourites, they haven't won a domestic knock-out trophy since that 2015 Scottish Cup final in which Shine scored her hat-trick. Hibs, by contrast, are aiming for a fourth successive SWPL Cup triumph to add to their run of three Scottish Cups.
The Edinburgh side lost 3-0 to Celtic in the league on Sunday but have captain Joelle Murray and deputy Rachael Small available again tonight.
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