Southampton manager Marieanne Spacey-Cale says that the club have identified the fact that this afternoon’s opponents Coventry United are improving and a tough match is expected at the Butts Park Arena.
The Saints travel to Warwickshire for their first-ever match in the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup. Given the strength of Southampton’s recent performances, they will be expected to win the tie and claim three points.
When speaking to FAWSL Full-Time ahead of the match, Southampton boss Spacey-Cale said that she is not taking Coventry United for granted, commenting that The Red and Greens are continuously improving as the season goes on.
“We need to approach the game with the mindset that regardless of what everybody from the outside is saying, we know that week-on-week, Coventry are getting better,” Spacey-Cale said. “They are getting new players in, Burchy (Lee Burch) will have them very organised and will be demanding standards from them.
“The expectation outside of these walls is that it should be a Southampton win but the realism inside is that you have to earn it. We will approach it the way that we approach every game and know that the most important game for us at this moment is this game.”
Southampton have been slow starters at times this season with the team being much stronger as games have gone on. Spacey-Cale agreed that The Saints must look to be a force from the first whistle.
She said “We’ve got to be starting games better. We can’t be relying on second half performances, we’ve got to be a better starting team and give ourselves a better platform to grow into games. We don’t want to be waiting for half-time to make changes that will impact the scorelines.”
Southampton’s opening FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup match at Coventry United kicks-off at 3pm.
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