Walsall Women head coach Matt Willis is hoping for a reaction from the Saddlers when they host Telford Town Ladies on Sunday afternoon.
Willis is anticipating a reaction from his players on Sunday at Dales Lane, with the game against Telford an ideal chance to bounce back from defeat in their West Midlands Regional Women’s Football League Division One North promotion push.
Walsall lost 2-0 to Lichfield City Women at the Trade Tyre Community Stadium last time out, with goals from Courtney Dilger and Skye White separating the sides.
Walsall’s performance was a valiant one, as they looked to take the game to the league leaders away from home, but was not enough to continue their 11-match unbeaten streak.
Consequently, Willis is looking for a reaction from his squad on Sunday against the Ams, as they seek to bounce back in style.
He said: “I think it’s key for all of us to see how we react.
“The first will be Tuesday, in how we react in training, then on Thursday and how we react on Sunday.
“I think if we play the way we did at Lichfield in the first 45 [minutes] and the first 20 minutes of the second half, we’ll stand ourselves in good stead.
“Again, it’s another opportunity and another step forward.”
Vice-captain Lucy Boswell is also hopeful of gaining a reaction from the squad against the Ams on Sunday, after the 2-0 loss the week prior.
The 28-year-old is aware that a positive response against Telford is required and that the home advantage could play into Walsall’s hands.
She said: “As it’s a home game, we’ll have home advantage which suits us.
“It’s the ideal chance to get another win under our belts after the loss against Lichfield.
“I think it needs to give us some confidence moving forward.”
The reverse fixture against Telford saw the Saddlers come out 2-0 winners at the DRM Aggregate Arena, with Rhiannon Bate and Chloe Astell securing the three points back in November.
With Walsall coming out on top once against Telford already this season, Willis is confident that his side can do it again, albeit with different conditions this time around.
“It does [boost confidence], but conditions were completely different,” he admitted.
“That pitch was grass and boggy, but we’re on a nice Astroturf.
“I don’t know how they’ll cope with the conditions – I don’t know if they play on Astroturf.
“I think we showed it last week at Lichfield what we’re capable of.
“We know we can move the ball well [and] we know we can play football.
“We’ll keep playing our way, hopefully that comes out again on Sunday and we’ll see what happens.”
Walsall’s loss to Lichfield would otherwise have been a hit to the Saddlers’ title hopes, but for the four games in hand they have on City.
Therefore, Willis is hopeful of getting three points on Sunday and maintaining pressure on first-placed Lichfield.
“We won’t put too much pressure on ourselves, but the games are vital now,” confessed Willis.
“We need to make sure we shut games out or be a bit more clinical.
“We need to get through these six or seven games we’ve got remaining, continue on our journey and keep working away.
“Hopefully we’ll start that [on] Tuesday [and] Thursday and we’ll see what happens on Sunday.”
Boswell agreed with the Saddlers boss in that Sunday’s clash against the Ams could be crucial in the title race, with it being the first of four games in hand they have on top of the table Lichfield.
“As I said before, we just need to play what’s in front of us,” she said.
“It’s a great chance to put pressure on them [Lichfield].
“It’s an opportunity to get three points on the board, and we’ll see what happens at the end of the season.”
Telford head into Sunday’s game in a good vein of form themselves – winning four of their last six matches and sitting third in the table.
Despite this, the Saddlers boss is choosing not to focus on Sunday’s opposition, instead insisting that securing the win is all that matters.
He added: “I think this is a tough league.
“I think anyone can beat anybody – I think you’ll see [that] through some of the results that that’s proven.
“We’ll play the team that is put in front of us on Sunday, keep playing our way, our standards, our behaviours and we’ll go from there.”
