London City Lionesses head coach Melissa Phillips says that the club’s Vitality Women’s FA Cup fourth round tie at Arsenal is a great test for her side.
The Pride are flying high in the FA Women’s Championship this season and on Sunday, they get the opportunity to test themselves against the Barclays FA Women’s Super League leaders and UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-finalists.
When speaking ahead of the match, Phillips said that her side are relishing the opportunity to test themselves against one of the best teams in Europe.
“We’re playing against the Vivianne Miedema’s and Tobin Heath’s of this world but we will prepare as we normally do. We will stay focused on our own game plan and where we need to be sharp.
“What a great test for us, they are at the top of the Super League right now so what a great opportunity to test ourselves. We knew that we were going to draw a Chelsea or an Arsenal when the balls were being drawn for the fourth round but what would you rather? There’s no better way than to go out and test yourselves against world class players, we are facing a two-time World Cup winner.
“It is a fantastic opportunity for us to see where we are at, for us to grow and for us to learn more about ourselves. Those are the games that you want when you are vying for that top spot in our own league, the ones that stretch us to really help us learn about ourselves a bit more.”
London City Lionesses faced both Arsenal and Chelsea in the domestic cups last season and despite losing those games, The Pride didn’t do an awful lot wrong. Phillips went on to say that the club pride themselves on setting high standards and the players know what they need to do at the LV Bet Stadium on Sunday.
She said “Last year, we lost 4-0 against Arsenal in the Conti Cup and put in a very respectable performance and pinched the ball off them in different areas. The same happened with Chelsea, we put in a very respectable performance. We are a hardworking team, we are competitive, we ask a lot of ourselves and we have very high standards and that is what we will bring into the game on Sunday.
“We have been difficult to break down this season and last, we continue to be that way. We know that we will have to be very switched on and very sharp in our out of possession performance but we also know that we are very good at pinching the ball off of teams and providing ourselves with opportunities to get on it.
“If you look at our performances this side of the year, we’ve been able to add a dynamic sense to our attack. We’ve always been good on the ball in possession through the thirds but we are now able to create more dangerous opportunities. We will take what we have learnt from ourselves over the last two games in possession and then stick to our identity out of possession which is difficult to break down and we will go and give it our all. That’s all we can do and that’s what we ask of the girls every day, week in, week out and if the performance is worthy, the result will match.”
The Vitality Women’s FA Cup fourth round tie between Arsenal and London City Lionesses is scheduled to kick-off at 12.30pm on Sunday. Tickets remain available and can be purchased by clicking here.
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