Aston Villa head coach Carla Ward says that she expects her side to be organised and disciplined when they take on Arsenal at Villa Park on Saturday evening.
Villa come up against an Arsenal side who have won eight games out of eight in all competitions under the guidance of new head coach Jonas Eidevall. The Gunners have also netted five goals against each of their last two opponents.
There is no doubting the fact that Villa face their most difficult test to date this weekend and head coach Ward says that her side must be both organised and disciplined if they are to have any chance of causing any kind of upset.
“Credit to them (Arsenal), Jonas has come in and done a fantastic job,” Ward said in her pre-match press conference in which FAWSL Full-Time were present. “What you can clearly see is that they have transitioned into a high-energy, front-foot, pressing team, they’ve just got quality all over the park.
“We’ve got to be organised and disciplined, those are going to be the two key words this weekend. We will try to frustrate them for large parts and do the best we can.
“Quite honestly, they are in scintillating form. I’ve watched them this season and I just want to applaud them, they are an absolute pleasure to watch, they’ve got quality in every area.
“These are the teams that you want to play against, I look forward to playing against the top three and the players should look forward to these sorts of games.”
Villa played a handful of games at their traditional home of Villa Park last season but they failed to impress at both ends of the pitch. Ward is hoping for a competitive performance in the club’s latest appearance in B6 whilst commenting that Villa could be set to record their highest-ever attendance.
She said “I’d take a nil-nil now if I’m honest, we don’t mind if we don’t score if we stop them scoring.
“The club have marketed the game really well. When we were playing on Sunday, we had sold a few thousand tickets so fingers crossed that those people who have purchased tickets do come on Saturday if so, I think it will be Villa’s biggest crowd in history.
“Ultimately, we want to make a good account of ourselves regardless of the scoreline. We want to make sure that people come back, they enjoy the occasion and more importantly, they enjoy the performance, that’s what’s going to get people back in.
“I feel good going into the Arsenal game, the girls seem in good spirits. We’ve set up in a way that is a little bit different than they are used to and they have bought into it, they are enjoying it. Hopefully, we can go out and give a good account of ourselves.”
The Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture between Aston Villa and Arsenal kicks-off at 5.15pm on Saturday evening. Fans can still buy their tickets by clicking here.
About The Author
