Final countdown: Caitlin McGuinness

Caitlin McGuinness has played a pivotal role in another historic season for Cliftonville Ladies – and she’s determined to deliver more of the same at the weekend.

After helping the Reds lift the County Antrim Cup back in July, McGuinness scored a hat-trick in August’s League Cup Final defeat of Sion Swifts’ Ladies before hitting the team’s first ever European goal when she netted against Benfica in last month’s Champions League clash in Portugal.

Despite being unable to retain their status as Women’s Premiership Champions, McGuinness believes there are plenty of positives to reflect upon in the build-up to Saturday night’s Electric Ireland Women’s Challenge Cup Final battle with Glentoran Women at Windsor Park.

“Although we missed out on the League, this season was still a very successful one for the team, competing in Cliftonville’s first Champions League and adding two trophies, hopefully three come this weekend,” she says.

“We know they’re a strong side and we’re expecting a challenge as always. But we’re confident we can use our strengths to our advantage, play our game and hopefully come out with the win.”

Asked about how tricky it can be to balance a one-game-at-a-time mentality with the knowledge that their next outing carries particular significance, the 21-year-old adds: “I think it’s easy now that the rest of the games are behind us and we can focus and be excited for the Final this week.”

Tickets for the game, which are available at a cost of £6 for adults and £3 for juniors (exclusive of £1 booking charge), can be purchased by clicking here.

Group bookings of 10 or more will receive a 50% discount with the promo code EIWCC23, which should be manually applied prior to selecting your seats. To purchase group tickets, simply click here.