London City Lionesses boss Melissa Phillips says that both her side and neighbours Charlton Athletic are fighting to get some momentum back in the FA Women’s Championship.
The two sides meet at Princes Park this afternoon in a what promises to be a tasty derby encounter. London City Lionesses go into the game winless in four matches while Charlton Athletic are six without a win and have gone five games without scoring.
When speaking to FAWSL Full-Time ahead of the match, London City Lionesses boss Phillips said that her side’s latest game is very much a tale of two sides who are in a similar space.
“I think we are arguably in the same space as they are,” Phillips said. “We have both had a tough patch of games, both had Liverpool in that stretch of games and I think momentum is a delicate thing. It is not always easy to keep when you have it and you have to work twice as hard to get it back which is where we are at.
“We remain focused on ourselves and we will look at the game the same that they do, it’s an opportunity to bounce back. I’m sure that they will be disappointed with the result against Palace at the weekend just as we were against Watford in the previous weekend. For us, it is about looking back at the last four games and pushing on with our goal which is to finish as high as we possibly can in the table.”
The game looks likely to be a tight encounter which may turn out to be a low-scoring affair. Phillips went on to emphasise the importance of having the right mentality going into the match.
“Mindset is everything, mindset is us as a club and how we do everything as a team but especially at this time of the season because habits and true character come out when you are fighting and there is only three or four points between third and eighth in the table,” Phillips said.
“Mindset plays a massive factor and if you look at it, the mindset to go out and play the likes of an Arsenal or a Liverpool who were league leaders, everyone is switched on at every moment of the game. They can do that against every team and that is testament to the teams at the top of the table.”
Phillips will witness a London City Lionesses derby game against Charlton Athletic with fans present at Princes Park for the first time in her tenure this afternoon, something that she is excited about.
She said “The derby atmosphere has been brilliant regardless of whether it has been us and Palace or us and Charlton on the road. The Charlton-Palace game drew a bunch of fans out to it too this past weekend so it is great to see the direction in which the game is growing with the fans in the stands.
“We are looking forward to having all of our friends and family back at Princes Park this weekend.”
The FA Women’s Championship fixture between London City Lionesses and Charlton Athletic kicks-off at 2pm. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.
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