Fixtures
- Aston Villa Women Vs. West Ham United Women – Sun, Apr 28th 2024, 14:00
Carla Ward spoke to media from Bodymoor Heath on Friday afternoon as she previewed this weekend’s encounter against West Ham United.
Aston Villa Women’s manager held her pre-match press conference at Bodymoor Heath to discuss last week’s defeat to Chelsea, Sunday’s test against West Ham, Sophia Poor, her team’s adaptability and more.
Here’s what she had to say…
On the result and performance last time out…
“It was tough. You have to deal with a sending off after four minutes which changes things. Fair play, the girls were excellent and they deserve and awful lot of credit because they stuck together. That 10-day [period] has given us a chance to have a look at West Ham and get prepared for them.”
On West Ham…
“If anyone’s ever watched an Aston Villa v West Ham game, it is never simple. There’s always so much happening. They’re resolute. Rehanne [Skinner]’s got them very well organised. They’re dogged. They’re wholehearted. We’ve had really good games against them in the last couple of years and it’s always been tight. We expect a tough test.”
On Sophia Poor…
“She’s been great. She’s got huge potential and I thought she handled her debut brilliantly. Live on Sky against the champions is never easy, but I thought she handled herself really well. She’s had a really good week, and she’s in line for her first start now.”
On adaptability…
“We’ve had to deal with a lot. We’ve had to deal with injuries, suspensions. I don’t think we’ve had a single week all season where full availability. We’ve changed systems two or three times this year and we’ve had people playing out of position. The adaptability within the squad’s been good. Anything that could have been thrown our way this year has been and we’ve dealt with it. That’s been really positive from this group. Three games to go and then a well-deserved breather.”
