Coventry United v Spurs Women – Karen and Juan’s preview

Spurs Women have the opportunity to make history in the Women’s FA Cup tomorrow (17 February) should we progress past Coventry United in the fifth round to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

The team haven’t advanced past the fifth round in the competition before, but Head Coaches Karen Hills and Juan Amoros are hoping their side can go one better in Monday’s Cup action against Championship newcomers Coventry, kick-off is 7.45pm at Butts Park Arena.

“The girls know it could be a big day for the Club and another step forward for us and everyone is extremely motivated for the game,” Juan commented. “We hope we can make it another good night for our fans and reach another milestone which will be a highlight in what’s already been a positive season for us so far.

“We played Coventry in the National League previously, we are familiar with some of their players. We know they’re a physical team, very well organised with pace on the wings and we are expecting it to be a difficult encounter because it will mean a lot for both teams to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.”

Karen added: “It would be a massive achievement for us to get through to the quarter-finals but it’s going to be a tough game against Coventry. We want to dream big but at the same time our focus is always on the next game and we need to put in a good performance against Coventry tomorrow before we can start talking about anything beyond that.”

Tomorrow’s hosts are ninth in the Championship and have lost their last two league games against London City Lionesses and Sheffield United.

They defeated Southampton in a comfortable 4-1 victory at St Mary’s Stadium last month to secure their place in the fifth round, while we beat Barnsley in a commanding 5-0 victory at The Hive.

Our last outing ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw against Everton at home last Wednesday (12 February), as we came from 2-0 down with 10 players to pick up a vital point in the league.

“They are an unpredictable team and we know that anything can happen in the FA Cup,” Karen continued. “We’re going to be fully focussed and ready to compete and go into the game with a winning mentality and hopefully we can keep that momentum going from the second half of our game against Everton midweek.”

Juan added: “We will never underestimate any teams we play, even if they are in the league below us, we have been there and we know how competitive it is and how difficult it is to win games in the Championship, we didn’t underestimate Barnsley and we certainly won’t do it with Coventry.”

The quarter-final draw will take place during our fixture tomorrow, live on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club from 8.45pm.