Chris Holloway has admitted that his players will need to show brains, as well as brawn, if his team are to extend their winning run against Cardiff City this weekend.
Coventry City Ladies travel to Wales off the back of victories against Charlton Athletic and Barnet, and are hoping to snatch a third consecutive league victory for the first time this season. However, Holloway has warned his players that they will have to be at the top of their game, if they want to overcome the Bluebirds on Sunday.
‘’It will be a very tough game against a physical and well organised team,’’ said Holloway, who started his tenure as City boss with victory over Cardiff in November. ‘’We need to show a desire to compete all over the pitch with an intelligence to open them up.
‘’The players are working as hard as ever. They have a good desire and now they want the games to come around as quickly as possible, but they know they can do better in certain areas and we are working on these all the time.’’
Things are looking much brighter for the Sky Blues after a New Year that was blighted by fixture changes and postponements. In the three months between November and February, the club played just five matches, consisting of one league match, as well as one FA Women’s Cup tie and three Birmingham FA County Cup ties, which understandably left Holloway frustrated.
However, with the weather improving and a clearer schedule in place, Holloway has seen his team hit form just at the right time. Courtney Sweetman-Kirk’s hat-trick helped City to a 3-2 victory over Barnet, which meant that City leapfrogged Cardiff into seventh in the FA Women’s Premier League table.
Nevertheless, Holloway has acknowledged that his team still aren’t playing to their full capabilities: ‘’we have given ourselves a platform to work off now, knowing we are still some way from our best. We have spoken in the dressing room about what we want to achieve, and we know how tough it will be, but we will give it our best.’’
The Sky Blues go into the game knowing that realistically they could climb to fifth in the table with a win, as they aim to continue their good form before defending their Birmingham FA County Cup trophy against Sporting Club Albion in three weeks’ time.
The FA Women’s Premier League fixture takes place at the Cardiff Athletics Stadium this Sunday, and will kick off at 2pm
Source: Coventry MAD
Source: FOOTYMAD
