Brentford Women will look to rejuvenate their title hopes as they take on Clapton Community in the London South East Regional Women’s Football League Division One North on Sunday at the Spotted Dog Ground in a 2pm kick-off.
With the Bees sitting four points off Clapton who are top of the league, first-team assistant head coach Sean Hillier feels the game is a must for win either side.
Speaking on Sunday’s match, Hillier said: “It’s first vs second so it’s obviously a massive game for both teams, our mindset is that every game we go into we have to win and that’s the same for Sunday.
“We got a great win on the weekend so I’m hoping we can build from that but three points for either side will be absolutely huge, so we’re prepared for a tough game.”
The first team got back to winning ways last Sunday when they overcame Richmond Park to ensure their place in the semi-finals of the Capital Cup. Chloe Logie’s double and a great strike from Sophie Troth saw the Bees come out 3-1 winners in what was a game which had a huge amount of pressure attached to it.
Chloe Logie vs Richmond Park
Hillier believes his side's ability to remain composed in high-pressure moments will help Brentford as they go into this weekend against their title rivals.
“We have improved a lot when dealing with pressure and we understand that everyone is out to beat us so I can only praise the players for their professionalism in these moments.
“As a team, we’re still developing to become the best we can be, and we have plenty to improve on but we’re in a good place at the moment sitting second in the league so we just need to take every game as it comes.”
Last time we met
The Bees kicked off their league campaign against Sunday’s opponents back in August with the first team leaving Bedfont Sports Club with a 2-1 win as Chloe Webb and Nikki Saunders were on target to secure the three points for Brentford.
Our B team have their own promotion hopes to concentrate on as they come up against Tower Hamlets on Sunday in the Greater London Women’s Football League Division One North at Bedfont Sports Club in a 3pm kick-off.
Like the first team, the B team sit second in their respective league and will be looking to close the gap on leaders Leyton Orient who are five points ahead.
Despite this, head coach Tommy Ryan-Maynard wants his side to focus on their own performances and look to win as many games as possible.
Talking on Sunday, Ryan-Maynard said: “We are in a big chase with Leyton Orient but to be honest I just want us to concentrate on ourselves.
“Our aim is promotion, but we cannot control what goes on in other games so as long as we keep winning, we’re always going to be within a chance.”
In the reverse fixture against Tower Hamlets Brentford Women’s B team picked up a 4-1 victory away from home with Holly Hawkes, Lillie Elsbury and a double from Abigail Claringbold sealing the win.
Ryan-Maynard goes on to explain how he feels this will give his side confidence as they face Tower Hamlets again on Sunday.
“In the previous game we played really well and won comfortably in the end so I believe the players know they can get the win.
“We can’t completely rule Tower Hamlets out though and we should give them the respect they deserve as they have pulled off a few surprise results following our game against them back in September.”