Column: Time to raise our game v City
In her latest column, Liverpool Ladies captain Gemma Bonner looks ahead to Sunday's home clash with Manchester City and tells us why the supporters have a key role to play.
While we were disappointed to lose 1-0 away at Chelsea last Sunday we've got to be pleased with the performance we put in. We know we didn't get the result we wanted or deserved, but at the top level it's a fine margin between winning and losing games. They had one real chance and it proved to be the difference between the two sides on the day. A lot was made of Fara Williams missing a penalty for us to equalise but both myself and the team have every confidence in Fara stepping up to take the next penalty.
We had several opportunities during the game but we weren't clinical enough which ultimately cost us. However we have to take the positives from a good team performance and the chances that we created against a strong Chelsea side. The performances that we were putting in at the beginning of the season we weren't too happy with, but now that the performances are there, that's a massive plus for us and I'm confident that the results will come if we perform to those standards each week.
We now look forward to a home game when we host Manchester City at the Select Security Stadium in Widnes on Sunday in front of the live BT Sport television cameras. Obviously City have made a lot of signings during the close season and we will come up against Lucy Bronze who was a brilliant player for us during the two years that she was with us. We all wish her well at City, except on Sunday! They have gone from strength to strength and have several attacking options now as well as a strong defensive unit so we are expecting a tough game. Like ourselves City are coming into this game on the back of a defeat. They are missing a few players but so are we, and it will be an exciting encounter and one we are looking forward to.
I have every confidence in the team and as a group we are eager to perform after we let ourselves down in our last live TV game against Sunderland earlier this season. It is a great opportunity for us to put on a good show playing at home and having our fantastic supporters behind us. They travelled to Chelsea with us in their numbers on Sunday and to have such a following like that, especially when the first-team were playing at Wembley, that was amazing and it's something we really appreciate.