Hampden Park. A theatre of dreams, the unbroken legacies of legends, and memories forever immortalised through the terraces. A new chapter at the historic stadium awaits this weekend, as the women of steel stride onto the glistening turf of the National Stadium to face Glasgow City.
Paul Brownlie’s side are preparing to contest their second Scottish Cup Semi-Final in two-years, with aspirations for a trip to the final running high amongst the squad. SWPL title-chasers and nine-time Scottish Cup champions Glasgow City stand in their way.
Motherwell are seeking to reach their first Scottish Cup Final in seven years after being defeated by Hibernian in 2018. Two-time Scottish Cup champion Shannon Leishman expressed a collective eagerness to forge their way to a cup final.
“The squad are really excited,” Leishman emphasised.
“I think it’s an incredible opportunity, it’s obviously a very different and daunting stage, but one we are all excited by. Every footballer wants to play in these special occasions, especially with a place in the Scottish Cup Final as the reward.
“Playing the top-six-teams on a weekly basis is the perfect preparation. We are excited by the opportunity, and are preparing in the correct manner to go and achieve a historic result.
“We’ve all had valuable minutes leading up to this weekend, the full squad are united and are ready to take this atmosphere into the game at the weekend.”
The experienced and decorated Scottish defender has already held aloft the trophy on two-occasions after featuring in the 2016-17 Hibernian squad that defeated Glasgow City on penalties before repeating that success the following season with a 3-0 victory. Despite being a two-time Scottish Cup winner, the anticipation and pressure that is associated with a game of this magnitude still resonates, but Leishman insists that the team will go out and relish the experience.
“You’ll never lose that feeling,” Leishman explained.
“I still feel the same pressure and anticipation that I felt on my first Cup Final. Every cup game is massive for the club, as we all share that belief of defying the odds and lifting silverware. You’re playing against opponents across all divisions, so every game you have to treat like a final.
“You always have the initial nerves, but as soon as you get onto the pitch and you see the other team and the crowd; that’s when you get excited. It’s always a thrilling experience, but you have to be able to cope with the added pressure in these types of cup games.”
Leishman, who has twice immersed herself in the glory of the Scottish Cup with parent club Hibernian, shared her experience of those halcyon days and the significance of the support from the stands and amongst her teammates.
“It was just incredible,” Leishman added.
“Every footballer, no matter whether amateur or professional, dreams of cup success. Lifting any bit of silverware and achieving that milestone in your career is always special.
“I was starting to break into the squad around that time when I was 20-years-old, and experiencing lifting the Scottish Cup twice gives you that incentive to keep that feeling every season. I think every experience you have is always a special moment, even if you aren’t playing and are on the bench, supporting your teammates is so important.
“I think that’s the mentality we all need to have this weekend, as unfortunately we can’t all be on the pitch and play. You need to have that backing within the squad, and we have a really positive core group that will support each other every step of the way.
“We’ll take this atmosphere onto the pitch, and hopefully we can leave Hampden Park knowing we’ll be back.”
