Women's football: Falkirk and Stenhousemuir face off tomorrow in top of the table clash

Match details

The match will be played at the Falkirk Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with kick off at 3pm.

Entry to the game is via a donation at the gate.

SWF League One?

Both under new management, Stenhousemuir and Falkirk sit respectively in first and second spot on six points from two matches played ahead of Sunday’s top of the table clash.

The division has replaced the SWF Championship regional divisions – which have been split into two separate leagues, including a top tier Championship and a second tier League One.

It is still governed by Scottish Women’s Football – unlike the SWPL1 and 2, which are now ran by the SPFL.

Both clubs would have been expected to challenge at the top end of the table before a ball was kicked, but it is fair to say the restructure has had a positive effect on creating a stronger league overall.

Last season, both sides fell short of their pre-season expectations, finishing in the bottom split – with the Bairns ending off two points ahead of Stenhousemuir.

Stenhousemuir camp

The Warriors currently pip Falkirk to first spot by a single goal and have beaten Giffnock 3-2 away from home and Dundee West 5-1 at home.

Boss Jack Cameron joined in the summer after the departure of Allan Milne.

New signing Sarah Kelly, who is a forward, is set to be involved in the matchday squad.

The key player for Cameron’s side is likely to be Eva Ralston.

She has notched three goals in two matches and is playing in her final match before moving to Spain for her studies.

Midfielder Zoë Richard-Campbell is also one to watch, she played as a trialist in the opening game and has scored and assisted since signing for the club.

Speaking ahead of the match, head coach Cameron said: “We are delighted with how it has gone so far. We have a right good group here and it just about adding to that now.

"Both matches have shown me good and bad things, but overall the performances have been very good.

"Our pre-season kicked off way before every other team in the league but I felt we needed that.

"The idea was to really hone in on just how professional we want to be in what will be a competitive league, one that will be much harder than most people probably think.

"I don’t need to add too many to this squad, it is mainly about adding genuine quality to what is a really strong starting eleven.

On the match, he added: “To be honest we are trying to treat it like any other game. We know it’s a rival, we know it’s a big game because they’re at the top end of the league with us so we’ll go in with the intention of trying to win the game like we always do, but we’ll respect the qualities that they’ve got.”

“We’ve always got a 90/10 rule here where we’ll focus on ourselves for 90% of the time and then only give a little bit of information to the players about the other team.

"That way for planning we’ve got all our own in-house stuff sorted first.”

Falkirk camp

Falkirk have started the season strongly after a mixed campaign last term.

They defeated Dundee West 4-2 last time out away and beat Edinburgh Caledonia 2-0 at home on the opening day.

Manager Craig Tully joined in the summer after the departure of Craig Muir.

It is an experienced appointment, with Tully having managed Rossvale in the women’s game and East Stirlingshire in the men’s game beforehand.

Striker Suzanne Wyatt has started the season of fire and has made the move to Falkirk from Stenhousemuir.

She scored last time out and is a player who could still play well above SWF’s second tier.

Young prospect Ellie Roberts also grabbed a goal last time out.

Her introduction to the squad last year was the surprise of the season as she went on to be one of club’s top goalscorers.

Eva Rule was the top goalscorer overall.

Speaking ahead of the match, assistant head coach Josh Thompson said: “The focus this year just feels different. Their is belief around the squad that maybe wasn’t quite there beforehand.

"We are delighted with how the start has went and I don’t even think we have hit top form as of yet, which is a good sign.

"The league is strong and it makes a difference playing new teams, the girls admitted it was getting tiring and I am sure it will be a good thing long-term for players at every club.

"We are still looking to recruit but we are happy with where we are at the moment."

On the match, he added: “There is noise coming from outwith the teams about the game, which is a good thing.

"We aren’t shocked by their start at all. The situation is similar in terms of trying to push on.

"They try to play the right way which is what we do too.”

League Cup draw

The 2022 Championship and League One Cup draw was made Thursday afternoon, with good news for Stenhousemuir and Falkirk.

They both received byes for the first round and will instead join in the second round.

The Warriors will host Championship Rossvale while Falkirk will travel to also top-flight outfit Livingston.