McManus Determined To Secure First Win
- Abbie McManus previewed LCFC Women’s trip to face Durham in the Continental Tyres League Cup
- Wednesday’s Group B fixture against the Championship side is a 7pm kick-off at Maiden Castle Sports Park
- The defender believes a win in the competition would boost morale in the squad
- McManus also discussed Sunday’s narrow 1-0 WSL defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion
Without a victory in league or cup this season, the Foxes face the FA Women’s Championship side, who they pipped to the second-tier title last season, in their second group stage fixture at Maiden Castle Sports Park.
Although getting points on the board in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League is the priority, the defender believes a win in this competition would help to build confidence and momentum ahead of meeting Everton at Pirelli Stadium on Sunday.
However, the former Manchester United centre-back knows it will not be easy against the north east outfit, currently placed third in the Championship, though the Wildcats have also lost their last three fixtures across all competitions.
“For us, it’s massive now,” the 28-year-old admitted to LCFC TV. “We’re playing a Durham side who are near the top of the Championship at the moment and obviously that’s kind of close to us at the bottom of the WSL.
“They’ll be coming into the game wanting to beat us, wanting to know if they can compete in the WSL. But we’ve got to go and prove that we’re the WSL side. It’s the Conti Cup and we want to climb the group that we’re in.
“We’ve not had that winning feeling yet this season so even though it is the Conti Cup and it’s not league action, one win can obviously boost morale in the changing room and hopefully that’s what it does if we get the win.”
City came within minutes of a first WSL point and a clean sheet at the weekend but were cruelly denied at least a draw by Maisie Symonds’ 93rd-minute free-kick at AMEX Stadium, which handed Brighton & Hove Albion a dramatic late victory.
Captaining the side in the absence of Sophie Barker, McManus was at the very heart of a resolute defensive display from the visitors, and felt they just didn’t get the rub of the green on the south coast.
“Obviously it’s deflating,” the stand-in skipper commented following the Brighton defeat. “We’ve stuck to the game plan, we’ve frustrated them. They’ve got a free-kick in the last minute which, to be honest, I don’t think should have been a free-kick, but they’ve put it in the top bins and credit to them.
Cup Success Would Boost Morale, Says McManus
Abbie McManus looks ahead to LCFC Women's Continental Tyres League Cup clash with Durham and reflects on the WSL defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion.
“We should have had a corner at our end as well and I could stand here all day complaining, but luck is just not on our side at the moment. We’re going back to the training ground, we’re grafting, and it’s just not coming. But we’re going to keep pushing and hopefully it will come soon.
“I was looking at the clock as it was coming up to 90 minutes and I thought we were going to do it. I kept on focusing with the girls, trying to push them, we had five minutes left of added time and unfortunately, we didn’t get through it. They kept us on the back foot, and I thought we defended really well.
“We now want to put in another performance that we’re proud of. I can tell you from the chats we’ve had with Jonathan [Morgan], we’re proud of that performance we’ve just put in against Brighton.”
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