Rehanne previews huge WSL clash at United on Sunday
Sat 22 January 2022, 09:15|
Tottenham Hotspur
The squad game has helped Spurs Women create history this week - and Rehanne Skinner is looking for her players to deliver again in a noon showdown at Manchester United in the FA Barclays Women’s Super League on Sunday.
The team toppled Championship leaders Liverpool 1-0 on Wednesday night to reach the semi-finals of the Continental Cup - the first time Spurs Women have reached the last four of one of the women’s game’s 'major' competitions, having twice reached the quarter-finals of the Women’s FA Cup.
Now they’re preparing for a huge game against United at their Leigh Sports Village home. A last-minute equaliser from West Ham denied Spurs sole second place in the WSL last weekend, but they remain very much in the shake-up, level on 21 points with United and Chelsea, tucked in behind leaders Arsenal, who sit top on 25.
Kyah Simon (Australia), So-hyun Cho (South Korea) and Jiali Tang (China) are now all at the Asian Cup in India, and with striker Kit Graham out longer-term, the squad will dig deep again.
“Everyone is fighting for a shirt, everyone has played a part this season, starting, coming off the bench and making an impact,” said Rehanne. “We’ve three players representing their countries at the Asian Cup at the moment, and it’s inevitable over the course of any season, whatever the situation, that the squad has to step up.
“That has shown up this week over the course of the two games, West Ham going into Liverpool. We’ve players who are capable of doing that, and we’re going to need it again this weekend when we travel lighter than usual. It’s an opportunity for players to stand up and be counted and show how we’re moving things forward, positively.”
It was our turn to enjoy a late, late leveller when we faced United at the Hive earlier in the season as Ria Percival’s free-kick sailed home for a share of the spoils in the WSL. Marc Skinner’s team are on a run of five-successive wins in all competitions, including beating Arsenal in the Conti Cup quarter-final on Wednesday night.
“It will be tough,” stated Rehanne. “Mark has been there a while now, so he’s got the team gelling and playing in a way I know he will have wanted them to play. They are a threat going forward, for sure, they can score goals, they’ve kept clean sheets - all the things we’re trying to do ourselves.
“If we continue to do the things that have helped us to get where we are at the moment, if we deliver that, we’ll make it a good game, and one we’ll hope to get points from.”
Back to the Conti Cup, and we drew Manchester City away in the last four - we’ll travel to the sky blue half of Manchester next month, with the tie scheduled for either the 2/3 February.
Rehanne added: “It’s another opportunity for the players to showcase what they’re all about. Every game for us at the moment is a chance to show performances, consistency and to be in and around the clubs who are in the semi-final (United, City, Chelsea) is a great place for us to be right now.
“Ultimately, whoever we got in that semi-final was going to be a tough test and we’ve just got to be ready for it. We play City again later in the season as well, so that’s a couple of good games for us to be involved in.”
