Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor says that he is aware of Durham’s collective efforts this season ahead of the two sides’ meeting in the FA Women’s Continental League Cup at The Academy Stadium on Thursday.
The Wildcats travel to the North West top of the FA Women’s Championship table. Lee Sanders’ side have been defensively solid throughout the season so far while they have regularly threatened the opposition goal, particularly from set plays.
When speaking in his pre-match press conference, Manchester City boss Taylor acknowledged the good work at Durham this season, identifying the fact that their achievements have been the result of collective effort.
“They have players contributing all over the pitch,” Taylor said. “They are quite physical, they have a big profile of players and they have shown really good energy. I watched them against Manchester United and they were always in the game.
“The way that they have got to the top of the league is down to being united as a team and I think that they have proved over the last couple of seasons that they are becoming more and more established in the Championship. Obviously, they’ll want to gain promotion this season and they have made a really good start.”
Unlike all of the teams in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League, Durham are not directly affiliated to a men’s club. Despite maybe not having the financial resources of some of the biggest women’s sides in the country, Taylor said that promotion is possible for The Wildcats and they would earn it on merit.
He said “If they get into the WSL this season, they would fully deserve it, they have been a team who have been there or thereabouts in the Championship for a few seasons now.
“I think that it is great to see that type of team doing really well, making everybody else sit up a little bit and take notice of the good stuff that they are doing.”
Durham battled to a 2-2 draw with top tier side Manchester United in their first FA Women’s Continental League Cup group game at Maiden Castle last month. The Wildcats have made their home ground a fortress and Taylor went on to say that he is pleased to be facing them on grass at The Academy Stadium rather than on an artificial surface in the North East.
“We played on it (an artificial pitch) last season against Leicester and it is definitely an advantage for the team training on it and playing on it on a regular basis,” the Manchester City boss said.
“It is a different type of game, the bounce can be different and I always feel like it’s a faster game on 4G so we are pleased to have the tie here and it is another opportunity to go out and put in a decent performance.”
The FA Women’s Continental League Cup group fixture between Manchester City and Durham kicks-off at 7pm on Thursday evening. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.