After a narrow defeat against Bristol City on Sunday, London City Lionesses remain third in the FA Women’s Championship.
Their next opponent is Liverpool, who sit on top of the table with a stunning goal difference of 28.
With this in mind, the London side awaits a tough clash.
Confident ahead of challenge
On Tuesday, LCL manager Melissa Phillips and full-back Lucy Fitzgerald discussed the upcoming match with the media. Both left no doubt that they are positive about the next game.
“I’m fully confident after yesterday’s session and meeting with the team that all eyes are ahead and focussed on being very professional about the weekend and going in and putting in a really strong performance,” said Phillips.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge and see where the chips fall on Sunday.”
Third vs first
Both teams last played each other in August when the Championship season of 2021/22 kicked off.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn the end, the London side secured all three points. However, a lot has changed since. Phillips admits that the second game against Liverpool will be a difficult challenge for her team. Nevertheless, she is fully confident about the London side’s approach and form.
“I think we’re playing some of our most dangerous football today in the season in terms of being able to execute on a goal and the chances we’re creating”, she said. “But we know, a big piece of identity is being defensively sound, being organised, being hard to break down, being gritty, and sticking together as a group.”
Home advantage
Phillips added it’ll take the best of the team to perform to get the result on the weekend. To achieve this, they can count on the fans to support them at their home ground.
Fitzgerald pointed out that their return made a big difference for the players.
“You really feel their presence, you can hear them cheer and you can hear them really giving you support,” the full-back said. “And I think that gives us the extra boost on Sunday just to go and make (…) that extra yard and (…) it has really helped us as a team.”
Learnings from Bristol City defeat
Throughout the week, the team reflected on their last game.
Embed from Getty Images“The specific learnings from the game are that how important every small moment is and that the small moments add up to the big moments,” Phillips said
“And it’s our job to be professional (…) and make sure that we’re fully focussed, compete, and drive each other on to the best we can be.” She points out this starts with her side’s habits. It includes how they perform every day and the standards that they hold themselves to.
“There’s not a lot of the season left, it’s gone by very quickly”, the manager says. “It’s been a really fun, exciting Women’s Championship season. And there are seven games left. We feel we still have a lot to prove as a club.”
The match between London City Lionesses and Liverpool kicks off on March 6th at 14.00 GMT.
