South Shields Women are back in league action this Sunday as they take on Redcar Town Ladies at Ford Hub (2pm kick-off).
The lasses have had a fortnight to prepare for the fixture following their 4-2 defeat against Wakefield but have all eyes set on picking up three important points in the ongoing title fight.
If the reverse tie is anything to go by supporters should be in for a treat - Shields put on a five-star performance back in September as the team ran riot down in Teesside.
Sophie Greener and Eve Gatens both hit braces while Jaz Elliott-Wood got in on the action too.
Matt’s thoughts
Head coach Matt Gatiss has stressed the importance of building up momentum as Shields have been heavily disrupted in the past few months in terms of game time.
He said: “It’s been about keeping momentum because we’ve obviously had another week off and it’s been really tough - that’s three games in three months we’ve had now really.
“We’ve identified quite early doors what we need to improve in terms of all the stuff that’s happened in games, but also that we’ve noticed as coaches in sessions and we’ve had an honest conversation before from it.”
Gatiss highlighted the five-star performance in the reverse leg and is hoping for more of the same.
He added: “We’ve got a blueprint of how we want to play and that’s what we’ve got to go back to. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about going back to basics and going back to understanding our principles of play and implementing that.
“Redcar’s one of the games where we highlighted early doors that it was the perfect... five-star performance.
“Everything clicked, everything worked: strikers were on fire, midfielders were on fire, defenders never gave a sniff away, Scarlett [Gowans] had a great game in goal and that’s what we’ve got to go back to.”
Information for supporters
Kick-off at Ford Hub (SR4 0RW) is at 2pm this Sunday, February 18th.
Entry is free but supporters will need a QR code to access the Hub, which they can get by signing up for a Leisure United account.
There are just 11 games left of the season so your support is more important than ever, especially when the next four matches are all contested at home, so get along and cheer the lasses on!