London City Lionesses prepare to take on Watford FC Women at Princes Park

The Lionesses will be looking to build on last weekend’s performance, when they take on a Watford FC Women side still searching for their first win of the season.

For City, the wind will certainly be in their sails following their impressive last-minute victory away to Blackburn Rover L.F.C, courtesy of midfielder Amy Rodgers’ effort on 90 minutes.

For manager Mellissa Phillips, the performance was everything she could have hoped for from her team: “Blackburn is a difficult place to go play, so to come away with the result and the three points, it really was a full team performance.

“It wasn’t just about the result, it was about putting in a good performance and executing in areas that we’ve been working on. We wanted to be assertive, we wanted to be on the front foot and impose ourselves physically, but also be clinical within the final third.

“I think we were able to do just that, so I’m incredibly proud of the group and looking forward to the next opportunity we have.”

Watford, on the other hand, are a side hungry for their first three points of the season and to find the back of the net, with the team having only found the net four times this season.

However, such desire to score can make a side that bit more dangerous going forward. So how have the Lionesses prepared this week for this next challenge?

“We know that they’ll pose a very different challenge to us that we’ve faced so far,” said Phillips, “but ultimately our biggest game is always our next one and so we’re focused and feeling ready.

“We’ve hit the training ground hard this week, we want to continue to elevate ourselves and our performances so that we’re prepared and focused going into Sunday’s match.

“We’re also excited to be back home in front of our fans, friends and family who are able to attend the match, it’s been a great atmosphere at Princes Park, so we’re looking forward to a competitive match on Sunday.”

But in a season where there have been so many standout performances within the team, how does Phillips go about the challenge of selecting just 11 for Sunday?

“We’ve got such an incredible group of people within our team,” remarked Phillips, “it’s an incredibly driven group and it’s an incredibly competitive group, so it’s not easy picking the line-up every Sunday because we have so many players who contribute in different ways and every game demands something pretty specific.

“We have a lot of depth in our team that has really allowed us to push ourselves even higher each week in training and focus on how we better ourselves and how we can make those one percent gains. Ultimately, it’s about making sure that we are focused, ready and prepared come Sunday.”

And with the roar of the Princes Park faithful soon to be fuelling them once again, it’s clear that for the Lionesses, Sunday can’t come soon enough.

The Lionesses kick-off against Watford FC Women at 14:00, Princes Park. Click here to get your tickets now!