Livingston Women's gaffer says cup performance gives him 'positive' selection headache

Livingston Women’s gaffer Mike Ross says his side’s Sky Sports Cup defeat to St Johnstone has given him a 'positive selection headache' as they prepare for a rematch this weekend.

The Lionesses boss elected to make 10 changes to the starting line-up for their Sky Sports Cup clash in Perth against the Saints.

Late goals in both normal time and extra-tie put paid to the visitors’ cup hopes as they fell to a 3-2 loss with Erin Burns nabbing a double for Livi in the defeat. The two sides meet again on Sunday in the same location for a SWPL2 tie as Livi look to make it three league games without defeat.

But, despite the result, Ross was full of praise for his side and insisted they can travel back north full of belief.

He commented: “There were a lot of changes but we picked a team we thought could win the game. It was the first proper minutes for some of them and I was really happy with the overall performance and the progress that we’ve made this season.

“It showed that there’s plenty of depth and options within the squad and it’s definitely given me a positive selection headache - but that’s the sort of problem you want. It’s going to be very difficult to pick the team.”

He added: “We scored two really well-worked goals and the effort and energy from the players was brilliant, especially given some of them didn’t have much game time in their legs and it was a very hot day.

“It’s testament to the squad and their character but it was just unfortunate we weren’t able to get over the line.”

Ross expects a similar challenge this weekend, but admits the Lionesses can go into the clash confident of picking up a result, saying: "We’ve been improving and making progress since the first game and we can go back there feeling that’s