Joelle Murray watched Hibernian land Rangers in the Women’s Scottish Cup last eight and immediately hit send on a “fuming emoji”.
Having just knocked out Glasgow City, the capital side found themselves with an even more formidable task against another of the big three.
Murray’s reaction was pinged in jest to her friend and fellow former Scotland international Julie Fleeting, who conducted the draw.
But as the defender puts on her straight face and sizes up the task that awaits she is undaunted by trying to overthrow another giant in Rangers, who are the current SWPL leaders and have won the past 13 meetings with Hibs.
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“We know that if we turn up and compete then on the day we can beat anyone,” Murray told BBC Scotland’s Behind the Goals podcast.
“It’s obviously one of the, if not the toughest, draws we could have got. Rangers are a top team, but if we want to win the competition we’ll need to beat any team that comes our way, be it Rangers, Celtic or Hearts.
“It’ll be an interesting game. Being drawn at home will be in our favour but we need to bring performances like Sunday and more into that game because it will be a tough test.”
Substitute Murray was a reluctant penalty hero as she dispatched the winning spot-kick in the shootout against City on Sunday.
The tie went to the wire at Petershill Park after Leah Eddie struck for the visitors to cancel out Lauren Davidson’s opener. When it came to deciding spot-kick duties, head coach Grant Scott was short of willing volunteers.
“Grant had basically said to the girls, ‘Who is confident?’ and we only had three. I wasn’t one of them,” Murray explained.
“I kinda wrestled with my conscience between I’m the captain and the girls expect me to step up, but on the other hand I’m thinking ‘These girls have put a shift in for the whole game and imagine I come on for the last 15 and miss a penalty and do them in.’
“I turned to Ellis [Notley] and Leah Eddie after Jo [Love] had missed for City and I said, ‘Who’s on the sixth?’
“It was kinda decided there and then. Ellis said, ‘You’. I thought arguing about it on the halfway line wasn’t a good look, so up I stepped.
“I’ve now watched it back a few times because in the moment it was a bit of a blur. It was quite nerve-racking, I maybe looked cool and composed on the outside but on the inside it was a different story.”
