Gibbons confident ahead of Brescia test

Matt Beard's charges go into the second leg of their round of 32 tie at the Select Security Stadium trailing 1-0 after Sara Gama’s long-range effort settled the first contest in Italy.

Liverpool will be looking to better last season’s performance in Europe which saw them eliminated at this stage at the hands of Swedish side Linköping.

And Gibbons believes the benefit of a home crowd in Widnes could prove the difference as Liverpool look to put a disappointing FA WSL 1 campaign behind them.

“The performance we gave on Wednesday was a lot better than some of our league games,” said Gibbons.

“It was a new environment for a lot of us and the atmosphere was intense, the Italian fans are very passionate. But we feel like when we bring them back here and we’ve got our fans behind us then we can turn it around.”

Injuries have caused havoc in the Liverpool ranks with Fara Williams and Katie Longhurst among those ruled out at one stage or another this term, while captain Gemma Bonner suffered ankle ligament damage in the first leg in Brescia and is definitely out.

But all that pales into insignificance when you consider Gibbons was forced to undergo surgery to remove a benign brain tumour in July which made her deaf in her left ear.

The 23-year-old has showed incredible courage to return to the pitch – making her first appearance since the operation in the final game of the WSL 1 season against Bristol Academy.

But Gibbons, who is sporting the same protective head gear worn by Arsenal No.1 Petr Cech, is determined not to let it affect her performances.

“I trained all the way up until the operation,” she added. “I was told I would need one last November and we were nearly finished for the year, so I wanted to time it to be back for pre-season.

“When that couldn’t happen I wanted to do it in the mid-season break, but I wasn’t sure that I would be able to play this season.

“There are some things you can’t control and injuries are one of them, but it’s frustrating to lose key players. Anyone we have lost this season through injury is a massive blow, because everyone plays their part.

“Gemma Bonner is a massive part of the team. She’s a great person and a great player, she leads by example and we are gutted that she is injured.

“But we are a close-knit squad, so she will still play her part. I’m sure whoever takes her place will do a good job, because we have a talented squad here.”

Following the 2-0 Continental Tyres Cup defeat to Notts County on Sunday, midfielder Katie Zelem insists the Ladies are determined to bounce back to winning ways.

“Wednesday is one of the most important games of our season,” said Zelem. “A win at home puts us through to the next round and we are confident we can achieve that. We have a lot of fans and they are very loud so hopefully that can help us.

“Fara Williams is returning which means we have much more experience and a bit of composure on the pitch.

“We had a lot of youngsters playing tonight but I thought we gave it a really good go in the second half and played with our hearts on our sleeves.”

Last time out

Liverpool Ladies were defeated by Brescia in Italy last Wednesday evening as Sara Gama's long range effort deceived Gibbons to give the Italians a first leg lead.

Despite chances for Natasha Dowie and Rosie White in the second half, the Ladies were unable to find an away goal and must now overturn the one goal deficit in Widnes.

If you want to go to Widnes tonight and support the Ladies, admission is just £5 for adults and £2.50 concessions.