As we look for a positive response to Wednesday’s loss in Munich, what better way to get back to winning ways than in the north London derby?
That’s the plan at Brisbane Road on Sunday, where we’ll be hoping to continue our positive record against our local rivals.
Asked in her pre-match press conference on Friday if this is the biggest north London derby Renée Slegers has been involved in, giving that we’re level on points with Spurs, our head coach said: “I think they’re all big, they’re big for us, they’re big for the players, they’re big for the fans as well, so no, it’s another big one, of course I was involved in the away game last year.
“We really look forward to this one because it’s an important one for us, for the fans. We know they will show up and we’re so grateful that they are with us and supporting us through all times and we’re going to do our very, very best for the fans as well.”
Martin Ho’s side have started strongly this season, fifth in the Barclays Women’s Super League with five wins from eight matches and only below us on goal difference.
“They play different, I think they have some players that are performing well, they’re more aggressive in the way they play, they go high, they go player for player, they want to win balls in the opposition half and that’s different from what they did last year,” Renée continued. “So they’ve been performing really well, so we have to be really smart with how we manage the game and what spaces we try to attack in the game.
“But yeah, if I look at how the team came back in today, we’re full of energy and belief going into the next one.”
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Renée was also asked if we can lean on our experiences of dealing with pressure last season, and how important it is to stay composed in a fixture that provides potential for plenty of drama.
“That's in this squad and in the individuals as well,” she said. “They've done this and they've shown so much resilience and strength. They know what they can do and what they can achieve. That's definitely within our foundation and in the pillars - that we have that belief.
“That's always good, when things become harder or you're not as successful as you want. You always have that in the back of your head, knowing that we can do it. That's of course helpful.
“I think that there was a lot of learnings in the Bayern game, because they start to stack numbers. It's long ball, second ball, it's duels, it's chaotic, they rotate. Within that, keep your own structure, keep your own head cool, and accepting spells of opposition momentum. I think that's what we did really well last year.
“I think the perfect example is the Champions League final against Barcelona, where we knew we had to suffer, but we were accepting it and kept our structure really well. So that's going to be important, and a big one is as well to make sure that we create that momentum for ourselves.”
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