Glasgow City vs Rangers Women: Leanne Crichton believes league victory can calm nerves ahead of Sky Sports Cup final
Scottish Women's Premier League leaders Glasgow City face Sky Sports Cup holders Rangers in Sunday's final at Fir Park; the Gers beat City 1-0 in the league last weekend; watch the Sky Sports Cup final live on Sky Sports on Sunday from 2.30pm, kick-off 3pm
Friday 27 March 2026 09:10, UK
Rangers head coach Leanne Crichton believes last weekend’s league victory over Glasgow City will "calm the nerves" as they prepare for Sunday's Sky Sports Cup final.
The Ibrox side inflicted a first domestic defeat of the season on City as Katie Wilkinson's stoppage-time penalty cut the gap in the league to five points with seven matches remaining.
With the first piece of major silverware of the campaign now up for grabs, Crichton is hoping her side can use the momentum of such an important win to earn her maiden trophy for the club.
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She told Sky Sports: "We knew we had to win the game, that was the reality.
"We could have probably afforded a draw and you would have given yourself a glimmer of hope. But I think the three points just reels Glasgow City back in the title race and it allows us now to park it.
"I want the players to enjoy this week. I want us to prepare properly. I don't want us to feel stressed.
"This season they [Glasgow City] have had has been pretty invincible.
"So I think that win calms the nerves. It allows us to recognise how good we can be.
"This season we've been our own worst enemy when we look at the goals that we've conceded and the games that we've not picked up the points that we've been in the hunt for.
"That performance just allows us to really believe, as I say, the team that we are and the team that we want to be."
Both Rangers and Glasgow City are still hunting domestic trebles, and the Ibrox club are bidding to win a fourth successive Sky Sports Cup.
After winning the double last term, and narrowly missing out on the league title on the final day, there is pressure on Crichton to deliver silverware in her first season as head coach - pressure that she is willing to embrace.
She added: "When you come to Rangers, that's the expectation. I would never shy away from that.
"For me personally, it would be a really strong achievement at this stage of the season. You all know that first piece of silverware, if you could get that in the bag, it would give you that little bit of added confidence.
"We want to win it, we believe we can win it and I think we've got ourselves this season in a position just now that we're contesting all three competitions, when some clubs in the top four don't have that same luxury.
"To be a winner, you need to experience defeat. You need to understand what that looks like and we've had our medicine this season on a number of occasions at different points.
"Last Sunday was the biggest ask of any group in any game this season across the league. For us to have lost the game would have been paramount in the title race."
