THE road to Hampden continues for Dunfermline Athletic Ladies this weekend as they bid to progress to round three of the Women's Scottish Cup.
Bonnyrigg Rose will make the trip across the Forth on Sunday to take on Angie Comrie's in-form side, and the Pars head coach reckons that their style of play will leave spectators impressed.
The team, who withdrew from last year's Scottish Women's Football Championship, returned to play ahead of the start of the Scottish Women's Football League North/East Division, and are firmly in contention for the title.
Now linked officially to the club, after joining forces with the Pars Foundation, the charity arm of Dunfermline Athletic, to create a team, they have won their last four league outings, scoring 27 times in the process.
In the cup, the semi-finals and final of which will be played at the national stadium, the Pars defeated Clark Drive Girls FC in the preliminary round before seeing off Drumchapel United in round one.
Speaking to Press Sport recently, Comrie, who was unveiled as the team's manager in June, said: "We brought a few new players in in the latter part of the first part of the season, and it's all just started to click now, and things have gone more smoothly.
"We'll always encourage creativity, to go forward, don't be afraid to make mistakes and, if you do, don't worry about it; get back, get that ball back, and start again.
"That's what I like to instil in them.
"I don't think they (people who come and watch) expect us to play the way we do so, when they do come down, they're like, 'Oh, that was really good'.
"It's quite good when they say well done to your team. It's down to the girls at the end of the day; they're out on the pitch playing, listening to me, and putting it into practice.
"It's a pat on their shoulders for playing the football that we know we can play."
Kelly Armstrong, general manager of the Pars Foundation, has helped out with the team during the course of the season and was keen to have Comrie, a former Pars player who also turned out for Bayside Ladies and Kelty Hearts, leading the side.
"We don't want to be sat in the same league. We want a competitive team and we want to climb," she said.
"If you've got the coaching staff there, and you've got the playing staff that are committed, dedicated and have got that passion and drive to do it, then why not?
"We've had great results (in the cup) playing teams from different regions as well.
"It's always good to benchmark yourself against other teams from other areas to see how we compare. You can look at league tables and say, 'Oh well, they must not be very good, or they must be very good', but it depends on the environment and teams they're playing against, and the region that they're in."
Bonnyrigg are currently fourth in the SWFL Central/South East Division, and defeated Stewarton United 8-2 in their last cup outing.
Sunday's game, at Pitreavie, kicks off at 12.30pm.
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