Source: Coventry MAD
Source: FOOTYMAD
Always A Bonus To Score - Dale
City Ladies On Their 17-0 win Nicole Dale insisted the praise should be credited to the predatory instincts of her teammates, as Coventry City Ladies destroyed Cottage Farm Rangers in the Second Round of the Birmingham FA County Cup. Dale netted four goals in the resounding 17-0 success, captain Natasha Lynch added a hat-trick and Helen Dermody, Hayley Ladd and Maz Gauntlett all netted twice. Karen Clough, Katy Ward, Kim Walton and Annabel Johnson also added to the scoreline, as the Sky Blues recorded the largest victory in their history. “Of course it’s always a bonus to score in a game,” admitted Dale. “But to me it was much more pleasing having nine different goalscorers on the score sheet on Sunday. “I feel it’s vitally important that the pressure to score goals isn’t put on just one or two specific players and it’s good to see every player stepping up and taking responsibility for that.” Before Sunday’s game, Dale had made eight starts for the Sky Blues this season, but had only twice completed a full 90 minutes. This made her well aware that the cup tie was an opportunity to showcase her ability and give manager Craig Nicholls food for thought. “Like all players at Coventry I’m aware of the quality we have in the team,” she added. “Therefore I take every training session and game time as an opportunity to put in a shift for the team.” Meanwhile, Nicholls was full of praise for the winger, and the way his side started their defence of the trophy against the West Midlands Division 1 North strugglers. “Nicole has been a starter in the vast majority of games and over the last few weeks she has been excellent. When she is positive she is very difficult to play against and I think there is still a lot more to come from her,” Nicholls admitted. He added: “If I'm being honest, I didn’t take a great deal from the game. The big thing was for the players to be able to motivate themselves and actually not let the situation affect them which the scoreline shows they didn't.” Despite the huge victory, the Sky Blues lost ground on Gillingham and Cardiff City at the top of the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division, after the top two both won their game in hand on Sunday. The Gills sit at the summit of the table, eight points ahead of Coventry, whilst Cardiff’s thumping victory over West Ham United took them five points clear of Nicholl’s side.
