Fixtures
- Arsenal Women Vs. Aston Villa Women – Wed, Mar 6th 2024, 19:15
Carla Ward spoke to members of the media on Tuesday morning ahead of Aston Villa’s FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup semi-final against Arsenal.
The manager offered her thoughts on the Gunners and their quality among other topics.
Here’s what she had to say…
On the difficulty of facing Arsenal…
“We’re thin on the ground. We’ve been thin on the ground for a while but a couple of results have silenced the talk on that. But let’s be really honest, we’ve got a very thin squad. With it now being a cup game, we’ve got players that are cup-tied and also Dri [Leon] that’s away. Two players that started at the weekend are also major doubts. Of course, that is a problem but this group will find a way. We’ll be ready. It’s a semi-final and something we’ve got to look forward to. We’ve got to go and give everything.”
On what it would mean to reach a final…
“I’ve not reached a major final yet. Aston Villa [Women] have never reached a major final, it would be absolutely huge. We’ll do everything we can to reach it but we know it’s going to be a tough ask. We’re going up against, in my opinion, one of the best squads in the country and we’re certainly thin on the ground. It’s going to be a massive, gigantic effort to get there.”
On taking confidence from last seaon’s victory at Meadow Park…
“We have to remind the girls that we’ve been there and we’ve got a result before. Not only that,
other clubs in and around us have got results from Arsenal this season. We have to try and take heart from that. We have to take every bit of confidence and enthusiasm into the game.”
On the importance of Villa’s experience…
“We’ve got winners in our group. We’ve got international winners in our group. We’ve got players that have been there and done it. We’re really calling on them to step up and use their experience and I think that’s going to be really important. We’re going to need every ounce of everyone tomorrow.”
