City Women kick off Phase Two of the Adran Premier this weekend, facing The New Saints at Park Hall Stadium.
The fixture takes place on Sunday, February 15th with a kick-off time of 2pm.
PRE MATCH | IAIN DARBYSHIRE
Following his side’s impressive run of form in Phase One of Genero Adran Premier, Iain Darbyshire looked ahead to Phase Two and what to expect.
“We’re feeling great on a good run of form,” Iain began. “We’re on an unbeaten run which is great. We’ve worked hard and put ourselves into a good position going into Phase Two. It’s on us now to continue to put up the results and have a successful campaign.”
The boss commented on what sort of game to expect at TNS, a team that have challenged Darbyshire’s side this year.
“In Phase Two, every game is tough. You’re playing against three of the best teams in the country so we know we must be on top form every game.
"TNS have caused us a lot of problems this year and although we’ve had a couple of good results against them recently, we can look back to the first two games where we lost and drew one and we understand what their strengths are and know that they can hurt us at times.
"I think we need to be a lot better than we were last Sunday when we played them. We need a lot more control and quality in the game and if we bring that we can have a positive result.”
PRE MATCH | LAURA CURNOCK
Laura Curnock gave her thoughts on Phase Two of the competition, and what to expect from this exciting City Women side.
“Every single game will be a challenge,” Laura began. “We’re going to do what we’ve done with every game this season and not look too far ahead and take one game at a time. Every game now is like a cup final in Phase Two, so it’s about focusing on each game individually and taking it as it comes.”
Our No.7 is more than familiar with TNS, having netted twice against them already this season.
She said: “TNS always give us such a hard game. They’re one of the fittest teams in the league so it’s always extremely transitional when we play them. They give us one of the hardest games we have all year. I think we played them about six times last year, and it’s going to be the same again this season so we’re starting to understand each other quite well. It’s an exciting game nonetheless and you always feel pretty good when you come away from there with a win.”
Curnock commented on her personal ambitions for the rest of the season, and what to expect from the team.
“I want to keep scoring, simple as that! Keep getting points on the board and ideally win competitions but that comes back to us taking one game at a time."
MEETINGS THIS SEASON | THE NEW SAINTS
The New Saints finished fourth in Phase One of the Genero Adran Premier.
After defeat at Park Hall on the opening day, Iain Darbyshire’s side were held against the Saints at Leckwith in a thrilling 3-3 draw. Lily Billingham and Laura Curnock scored late to salvage a point
The Bluebirds had their revenge in the Semi-Finals of the Adran Trophy, securing a 3-0 victory thanks in part to Mackenzie Olden’s strike and a brace from Madison Lloyd.
More recently, the side secured a 3-0 victory in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup. Goals from Ffion Price, Nieve Jenkins and Curnock helped advance to the Semi-Finals.
REACHING THE GROUND
Supporters planning on attending Sunday’s fixture should use the following address:
The New Saints FC
Park Hall
Whittington
Oswestry
Shropshire
SY11 4AS
The nearest train station to Park Hall Stadium is Gobowen.
TICKET INFORMATION
Entry for this Sunday’s match will cost £6 for adults and is £2 for Under 18’s.