Aston Villa head coach Carla Ward says that her side are targeting nothing less than three points from their latest Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
The Villans have already bettered their points tally from last season but head coach Ward wants her side to keep aiming to progress, particularly after some of their good performances haven’t provided the rewards this season.
This weekend’s opponents Tottenham Hotspur are five places above Aston Villa in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table and 11 points better off but Ward said that the message to her players this week has been to win the game.
“When we played Tottenham last time, we were disappointed that big decisions didn’t go our way,” Ward said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “We have to be ready to go again but I have to be honest, that game hurt us because I felt we did enough like we have in a lot of games. Ultimately, we scored with 10 minutes to go and it wasn’t given which would have put us in a very different position going into those final 10 minutes. There’s probably still some hurt from that but Tottenham have had a fantastic season.
“They are a well-organised side and I’ve admired the work that’s been done there. We know it will be a tough afternoon, we really do. They have probably exceeded expectations this season. We will go there to win the game. The message has been that all week – we’re going for the win.”
Spurs are known for not giving away many big chances against their opponents, however, Ward went on to say that her strikers look to be in particularly good form ahead of the game.
She said “For the first time all season, we’ve had an entire week of hitting the back of the net (in training).
“Tottenham have been resolute, compact and tight. We have had the ability to unlock all defences this season, including Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City so we’ll continue to work and try to get into their final third. They’re not conceding many but they’re not scoring many – a bit like us. It’s set to be a 5-5, right?
“We’ll just continue to try to break them down and find the back of the net. That’s all we need to do. We’ve been brilliant, it’s just that little ingredient in the final third.
“Our forwards have been sensational this week. They have been hungry, they have been sharp and I pulled a couple of them yesterday and reminded them of that. The response I got was that they are ready and feeling it because they have been flying this week. We want to see that replicated in games and I have no doubt that once one or two go in, there might be three or four.”
Aston Villa’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture at Tottenham Hotspur kicks-off at 2pm on Sunday afternoon.
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