Following the latest international break, the Barclays Women’s Super League returns this weekend.
For Aston Villa, they will face a game against West Ham United at The Poundland Bescot Stadium, a contest that head coach Carla Ward believes may provide the biggest challenge yet.
After enjoying a flying start to the season with two league wins and six goals scored, tomorrow’s game will be another test of resilience for Ward’s ever-improving Aston Villa side.
“If you look at Paul Konchesky as a player throughout his career and everything he stands for, I think it’s a team that replicates what he’s about – wholehearted, front-footed and aggressive,” Ward said when speaking in the pre-match press conference.
“They’ve got a lot of quality and a lot of really experienced players in their group. Despite losing to Manchester United and Chelsea, I thought they were very good for large parts of the games.
“We know it’s going to be tough and it’s probably the biggest game of the season so far.”
Ward went on to discuss team news ahead of the game, revealing that Aston Villa will be without the services of forward Emily Gielnik for some time.
She said “The good old international break has haunted us again. Emily Gielnik has done her calf when playing for Australia and is set to be out probably until Christmas time I’d imagine, which isn’t ideal. I hate the international break, there’s a major tournament in the summer, we’ve just had a major tournament and player welfare is massive. There’s no surprise that everyone picks up injuries.
“When we talk about momentum it’s frustrating because on the back of three very good performances and wins, we’ve then got a couple of weeks break. It’s happening again, we have four or five games and then another couple of weeks off. It’s part and parcel of the women’s game.”
With Aston Villa currently occupying third place in the table on the back of their successful start, head coach Ward and striker Rachel Daly have been given the Manager and Player of the Month awards for September.
Commenting on the impact of Daly, Ward said “Rachel’s been brilliant on and off the pitch. I could not speak higher of her in terms of what she does for the youngsters. I’ve never seen a player come in and get all the youngsters around her.
“They’re all in awe of her of course naturally, because of what she’s achieved but what she actually does for them is exceptional. She’s taken them all under her wing, she’ll arrive with them and get after them and make sure they don’t have a single minute or second off.
“She sets a standard that is unbelievably high, she’s hungry, she’s a winner. She’s ready to get after people, it’s great and we’re delighted that she’s come in the building with us.”
Everyone knows Daly for her versatility. Operating as a striker for The Villans, she has scored three goals in two league games. It is a completely different role to when the player starred at full-back for England as they won the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 in the summer. Ward believes that Daly could also play a leading role for her country in attack.
She said “Daly should 100% be considered as a striker for the Lionesses, no ifs, no buts. She’s not a defender, she’s a centre forward and she should absolutely be knocking on the door. She’s the highest scorer for an English player in the Barclays Women’s Super League right now so I think she should be.”
Aston Villa’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against West Ham United kicks-off at 12.30pm tomorrow.
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