Match Preview: Liverpool Ladies v Doncaster Belles

 On Sunday afternoon Liverpool Ladies played their final away game of the 2013 season and now embark on a run-in that consists of three home ties, starting with the visit of Doncaster Belles tomorrow night.

 These two sides met just under two weeks ago at Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium. Gemma Bonner gave Liverpool an early lead before the Belles had a player sent off and went on to concede 8 more goals, Liverpool running out 9-0 winners on the day.

 Alongside Bonner's goal, leading goalscorer Natasha Dowie grabbed a first half hat trick to take her goals tally to 15 in 18 games this season while Nicole Rolser, Louise Fors, Fara Williams and Kate Longhurst scoring the rest.

 German midfielder Nicole Rolser has been on fire over the second half of the season, scoring 7 goals in her last 4 games - including a hat trick against Birmingham at the weekend. Rolser also set up Dowie's winning goal in our last home game against Chelsea.

 Against Birmingham, Liverpool sprinted into a 4 goal lead and during the first half played some of the finest football, passing and moving the ball across the field with ease. This led to the free kick that Louise Fors brilliantly smashed past the blues keeper.

 During the second half Liverpool took their foot off the pedal a little, Birmingham capitalised on this and pulled 2 goals back but Liverpool held on and finished strongly to bring home another 3 points.

 Following our 9-0 win, Doncaster Belles picked themselves up and won for the first time this season, beating Lincoln Ladies 1-0. Next up for the Belles was Arsenal Ladies. Arsenal's in-form forward Danielle Carter gave the Gunners the lead and Sue Smith equalised shortly after half time , however Arsenal went on to win the game 3-1. The last two results show the Belles have pulled themselves together following two heavy defeats.

 Despite the landslide scoreline on 24th August the Belles are definitely not a side to be taken lightly, more than capable of matching any side on the day.

 This game will be the last time we welcome Doncaster Belles to our home stadium in the league for at least a year. As mentioned in the last Doncaster preview, the Belles will be playing their football in the newly formed second tier of the WSL. The Belles and their noisy fans will be sorely missed next season.

 The game kicks off at 7:45pm at Halton Stadium, Widnes. Anfield ST holders have free entry to all Ladies home games, alternatively adult tickets are £5, concessions £2.50 and can be purchased on the gate.

 Thanks for reading, I will be at the game and updating from @LFCLadiesFans

Match Preview: Birmingham City vs Liverpool Ladies

 For the final away game of the season Liverpool Ladies travel to Stratford-upon-Avon to face last seasons runners up Birmingham City.

 Midweek Arsenal narrowly beat Chelsea 1-0 in the London derby to further decrease the points difference between ourselves and them. The Gunners are now 2 points behind us in the league with a game in hand, this makes each of our 4 remaining games a must win if we are to challenge until the end.

 Liverpool go into this game on the back of a thumping 9-0 win away at Doncaster Belles, the landslide victory coming after two narrow 4-3 victories and giving our goal difference a welcome boost.

 Prior to this game Liverpool conceded 6 goals in 2 games, leading to a half time substitution during the Chelsea game. Rachel Laws then remained in goal against Doncaster to keep our first clean sheet this side of the season.

 Natasha Dowie and Fara Williams continued their fine run of form over the last couple of games, Natasha bagged a first half hat trick over the Belles. New number 7 Kate Longhurst also scored her first Liverpool goal after coming on as a substitute while brilliant German Nicole Rolser also added her 8th goal of the season and Liverpool's 8th of the game during a more subdued second half.

 In contrast to our season, our opponents have had a disappointing campaign by their standards. Already qualified for this years Champions League they were effectively out of the running for next years by the time the summer break came around - unable to keep up with the pace set by both Liverpool and Bristol Academy.

  During the second half of the season Birmingham manager David Parker has been giving the clubs youth a chance to impress, dropping lead scorer Rachel Williams to the bench.

 Melissa Lawley in particular has impressed and has a record of 3 goals in her last 3 starts for the blues. Karen Carney, who was injured during the first half of the season, has also featured in each of Birmingham's last 3 games. Carney came on as a substitute against Doncaster and Lincoln and started last weekends defeat to Arsenal. 

 @LFCLadiesFans will be providing coverage of the game on Sunday, travelling to Stratford-upon-Avon much to the delight of my friend who has inherited my season ticket for some other game taking place at Anfield the same afternoon! If any other reds are going to be at the game get in touch! Kick off is at 2pm.

 A few other bits to conclude this preview, tomorrow Liverpool's Katie Zelem and  Ellie Stewart will be part of the England squad defending the Under 19's European Championship trophy. The final against France kicks off at 3pm and you can watch the game by following this link.

 Secondly the next Liverpool Ladies monthly round up for This Is Anfield will be online over the next couple of days, bring yourself up to date by reading June & July's.

 Lastly the  official LFC magazine is due out early September and will feature Amanda Da Costa's latest diary, which is always worth a read! There will also be a brief interview with myself - which I am slightly nervous about but if you want to know who my favourite player is (and I did manage to settle on just one after initially going through several) make sure you pick up a copy.

Thanks for reading!

Match Preview: Doncaster Belles vs Liverpool Ladies

 Midweek Arsenal soundly beat  Doncaster Belles 6-0 at the Keepmoat Stadium, closing the gap on Liverpool Ladies in the league table to 2 points. The Gunners also have a game in hand and have leapfrogged our goal difference, now having +14 to our +10.

 This game then another must win for Liverpool, at this stage in the season with Arsenal hot on our heels we cannot afford to drop points. In our last 3 league games we have conceded 9 goals, scoring 8. The 3 goals we conceded versus Chelsea in our last league game could be considered as unlucky. Chelsea's first came after a mix up between Corina Schroder and goalkeeper Sarah Quantrill, the second via a counter attack and the third being an own goal. 

 After fighting to peg Chelsea back to 2-2, it could have been demoralising for the team when the 3rd Chelsea goal when into the back of the net. However showing great character, as Matt Beard commented after the game, the reds snatched victory with less than 10 minutes remaining. Natasha Dowie was a constant threat during the 2nd half, scoring the equaliser with a brilliant diving header from a Nicole  Rolser cross. Minutes later the same two players combined in the 6 yard box with Dowie setting Rolser up for the winner.

 On Saturday night we have the opportunity to go 6 points clear of Bristol Academy and 5 points ahead of Arsenal, the Gunners next game is a London derby against  Chelsea next Thursday.

 Our opponents plight over the course of the season has been well-documented. Doncaster Belles were unfairly informed after the opening game that matter the course their season were to take, next season would see them playing their football in the new 2nd tier of Women's Football. Their top tier place going to Manchester City. No matter how disheartening this must have been and still is for the Belles and their supporters they have valiantly stuck behind their team.

 Doncaster are yet to win a game this season, although they have come close. Away at Birmingham a couple of weeks ago the Belles had numerous chances to go ahead, Ashleigh Mills hit the post in the first half with Sue Smith also seeing a free kick saved but Birmingham scored with 7 minutes to go to take all 3 points.

 Midweek against Arsenal during the opening 30 minutes Doncaster appeared to be holding out against the Champions, before 3 goals came in as many minutes to break their resolve. As mentioned earlier Doncaster have great supporters behind them, who could be heard singing "We're going to win 4-3!" It wasn't to be unfortunately for them and Arsenal ran out 6-0 winners.

 Doncaster are determined in their search for a win before the end of the season, they have been boosted both by the return of Sue Smith from injury before the summer break and during the summer signed Liverpool forward Katie Brusell.

 The game will kick off at 6pm at  Doncaster Belles' Keepmoat Stadium. This is the only game of our 5 remaining I will not be at, a combination of lack of trains back to Liverpool after the game and my yearly trip to Villa Park to watch the men's side. @Girlsontheball will be there, alongside both clubs official twitters and the @bellesnoisyfans.

 Following this game, next Sunday 1st September sees our final away game of the season against Birmingham City. There is a few of us travelling by train for this one, it's a 2pm kick off in Stratford-upon-Avon and if you have any interest in coming with to support the reds, please get in touch @LFCLadiesFans.

 Thanks for reading!

Match Preview: Liverpool Ladies vs Chelsea Ladies

 Liverpool Ladies go into this game on the back of a thrilling 4-3 victory away at Bristol Academy, Gemma Bonner with the crucial winner minutes from time to ensure our return to the top of the table. Sitting top for now, once again on goal difference, every game left is now important with Arsenal having closed the gap between us to 5 points and they have 2 games in hand.

 Like Liverpool, Chelsea have been in the process of rebuilding their team over the past two transfer windows. However unlike Liverpool, Chelsea have found it hard to click. After beating us 2-1 in May, Chelsea lost the remaining 5 games of the first half of the season. Returning after the break, having made an impressive signing with World Cup winner Yuki Ogimi, they won their first fixture back against Doncaster Belles but a week later fell to a 2-0 defeat to Lincoln Ladies. This has left them well off the pace in the league, they have played one more game than us yet sit 8 points behind.

 Chelsea's points return is disappointing given the attacking talent they have at their disposal. Swedish international Sofia Jakobsson is the blues top scorer with 6 goals in 13 games, while England's Eni Aluko is just behind with 5 goals. Welsh striker Helen Ward has been a mainstay in the Chelsea side since the inception of the Women's Super League, last season she scored 9 goals while this season has found the back of the net just 3 times.

 In our last two fixtures against Chelsea we have won one and lost one. The loss being the 2-1 defeat in the league, with their 2nd goal coming after an unnoticed foul on Whitney Engen in the build up. The win came a week later in the Continental Cup - a convincing 4-0 victory with the leagues top scorer Natasha Dowie scoring twice.

 Following a disappointing start to the second half of the season after defeats to Arsenal and Lincoln, the momentum we had built up with 4 straight wins before the break was halted. During the Bristol game last Saturday we raced 3-1 ahead, goals from Louise Fors, Nicole Rolser and Katrin Omarsdottir, before the Vixens scored twice in 2 minutes to level the score. Searching for a winner, the chance fell to centre back Gemma Bonner who fired an incredible strike past the hapless Siobhan Chamberlain to secure 3 points.

 Despite Chelsea's lack of wins this season they are not a side to be taken lightly and will be desperate to add to their points tally in the 5 games they have left.

 The game will be played at Liverpool's Halton Stadium with a 7:15pm kick off. Tickets are £5 adults, £2.50 concessions and Anfield season ticket holder get in free. It is not televised but you can follow match updates through the official clubs twitters, alongside @LFCLadiesFans and @Girlsontheball will also be there.

 Also, this week I did an interview with the Official LFC magazine, very grateful for that opportunity - I answered questions on Women's Football in general and of course the Liverpool Ladies. You will be able to read this after Amanda Da Costa's diary in the next issue. I hope I did ok!

 Thanks for reading!

Match Preview: Bristol Academy vs Liverpool Ladies

 Looking at the list of games for the second half of the season, this one perhaps draws a little more anticipation than the other fixtures. Until Liverpool slumped to a 3-0 defeat by Arsenal last weekend and Bristol were gifted 3 points at Everton, ourselves and the Vixens were equal on points - with Liverpool having the superior goal difference. Their win last Sunday meant they leapfrogged us into 1st place, ahead by only 3 points. The outcome of this match could be crucial to our league season.

 Hoping to bounce back from the Arsenal defeat, Liverpool played Lincoln in a mid-week semi final. The reds unfortunately lost the game on penalties despite dominating the run of the play. Liverpool peppered the Lincoln goal with shots, yet England number 1 Karen Bardsley reminded everyone why she is regarded as one of the worlds top keepers with a number of inspired saves to keep us out. Bardsley also saved two penalty kicks during the shootout, from Louise Fors and Natasha Dowie.

 At times during the game Liverpool looked like the team we had watched during the first half of the season, particularly during the first 45 minutes as we created many chances and could have gone in at half time easily up by 2 or 3 more than 1-0

.

 Unlike Liverpool, Bristol won their first game back after the break against our Merseyside rivals Everton. The half of the game was a 4 goal thriller, twice the Vixens went ahead with Everton twice bringing the score level. Bristol's first was a Jill Scott own goal, while their second came after a misplaced Everton back pass. Heavy rain during the second half seemed to slow the tempo of the game however debutant Billie Murphy scored the blues second own goal of the game to gift Bristol the win.

 Bristol play an attacking game, Natalia is a constant threat - always lurking around the 18 yard box - alongside fellow Spaniard Laura Del Rio. Del Rio carried a slight injury problem through May and June which limited her appearances but she did come off the bench against Everton. Natasha Harding is another key player for the Vixens, netting the second goal against Everton at the weekend, Harding seems to have easily slipped back into her fine form straight after the break.

 This is a game Liverpool cannot really afford to lose, a Bristol victory would see them extend their lead over us at the top to six points with Arsenal also breathing down our necks.

 Natasha Dowie scored for us against Lincoln during the week and was unlucky not to double or treble her tally as she linked up well with Nicole Rolser. Fara Williams was the driving force behind most of Liverpool's attacks on Wednesday, along with Amanda Da Costa. New signing Kate Longhurst was cup tied during the week but could feature against Bristol after impressing while coming on as a sub against Arsenal.

 Hopefully 120 minutes played during the week will not affect us, I don't think motivation will be a problem however and I am sure Liverpool will throw everything at Bristol to get our season back on track.

 This is an away game for Liverpool Ladies and will be played at Bristol Academy's Stoke Gifford Stadium. Kick off is at 7:45pm with adult tickets priced at £5 and concessions £3, the game is also live on BT Sport for those who can't make it and for those who don't have BT Sport keep an eye out on twitter as I will try and share a stream!

 @LFCLadiesFans will be live tweeting the game, although not there I will be watching on BT Sport. The @Girlsontheball will be there however so make sure you're also following them.

 Thanks for reading!

  

Lincoln Ladies vs Liverpool Ladies, Sunday 14th April

 This Sunday the ladies in red travel to Lincoln to play in the first game of the WSL season.

Read a preview to the game here.

I answered a few great questions on Lincoln Ladies supporter Adam's preview blog which you can find below, and was supposed to do my own but I think his covers all corners!




AB: Liverpool have played three games so far and have won two and drawn one. How do you rate the performance of the side so far in this early stage of the season?

 HC: Liverpool are in good form going into the season, a convincing 5-0 win at Aston Villa and a 2-1 victory away at Sunderland. However the game we drew at home against Everton is probably a more realistic view of where we are at the moment. We started well against Everton and if it were not for a couple of great saves from Rachel Brown we could have been 2-0 up going in at half time! We were a bit unlucky with the dubious decision that led to their goal and without that I think we could have gone on and got a hard earned victory.


 AB: You have been by far the busiest club in the transfer market over the winter months. Which signing has most excited the fans?

 HC: To be honest all the new signings have stirred excitement amongst supporters. They are a real statement of intent from the club alongside the integrating of the Women’s team into a bigger part of Liverpool Football Club as a whole.
The signings from Everton are huge for us, in particular Fara Williams who is a proven goal scoring midfielder in the WSL. Williams got a hat trick in her competitive debut for us which is great to see.
Whitney Engen is the biggest signing for us in my opinion; a fantastic centre back who I believe will be first choice for the USA in the coming years. If Engen and Gemma Bonner can form a successful partnership in the heart of our defence it will bring the stability that we have craved in the last couple of seasons.


 AB: How has the move to a new stadium gone down with the supporters? The ground at Widnes is certainly a huge improvement from last season and you had a very good crowd in for the Everton match.


 HC:Halton Stadium is a vast improvement from last season, a lot more accessible and appealing than being in Skelmersdale! The buzz around the new signings and the media coverage we seem to be getting should mean that the numbers through the gate will go up. Given that the game against Everton last month had such a good crowd despite the terrible weather conditions is a great indicator for the season ahead.


 AB:Where do you expect Liverpool to finish this season in the league? And do you think there is added pressure on the club given all the signings made in the winter?


 HC: Matt Beard has said the minimum target this season is a top four finish and while I feel this is a more realistic expectation if the team can settle quickly and get a good run of results together to get some momentum going I see no reason why we can’t at least challenge at the top of the table. Not saying I expect us to be winning the league straight away but to be up there and challenging for honours would be great for both the club and supporters after the last couple of seasons.
The pressure is on the players to perform especially with the aforementioned media coverage, it kind of feels as though everyone is watching us to see what happens. Hopefully that pressure is something the girls can thrive on.

AB:And finally could we have a prediction for this weekend’s game from you please

 HC: The fixture has given us a lot of goals over the last two seasons however with both teams having strengthened at the back – Karen Bardsley being a great signing for you and our new centre back pairing of Engen and Bonner I can see this game being a tighter affair. I’m going to sit on the fence and go for a 1-1 draw!