Charlton Athletic head coach Karen Hills says that Reading will provide her side with a tough test at the Select Car Leasing Stadium this evening.
Both sides played out 1-1 draws on opening day. Charlton Athletic conceded an injury time equaliser against Sheffield United at The Valley while Crystal Palace levelled with virtually the last kick against Reading.
The Barclays Women’s Championship is a competition of very fine margins and Charlton Athletic boss Hills expects another tough game against latest opponents Reading this evening.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Hills said when speaking in the pre-match press conference.
“Reading are looking very different to last year. They have a whole new management team, new players but they do still have some of their existing players that played in the WSL last season and very good players they are.
“They are going to bring their experience and they have some young players in there as well. They’ve got an ex-player of ours in there too; it is great to see Rach (Dugdale) back playing.”
With the start of the Barclays Women’s Super League season still more than a month away, the Barclays Women’s Championship are making use of a Saturday evening slot to stage one fixture. With Charlton Athletic having the novelty of playing at 5.15pm this evening, Hills wants her side to make sure that they are ready for the slightly different circumstances.
She said “We need to make sure we are fully-focused. It is a bit of a different time, 5.15pm on a Saturday, so the preparation this week has looked a little different. The players are going to have to make sure that they are in the best possible shape mentally and physically going into the game.
“No other team in our league is playing on Saturday, so it is an opportunity for us.”
Charlton Athletic’s Barclays Women’s Championship fixture at Reading is available to watch live on the FA Player.
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