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Leeds Carnegie will be aiming to put their poor start to the FA Tesco Women’s Premier League season behind them when they entertain Bristol Academy on Sunday.
After beating Fulham in their opening game of the campaign Leeds took just one point from their following four fixtures. But the injury-hit Carnegie girls bounced back with a 3-0 midweek win at Yorkshire rivals Doncaster Rovers Belles.
And that could be a hugely significant result reckons the club’s England winger Sue Smith, who scored two of the goals at the Keepmoat Stadium.
“Hopefully that will be the turning point of our season,” says Smith, who on Monday flies to the Czech Republic with the national squad for a vital Euro 2009 qualifier.
“It’s been disappointing so far,” adds Smith, “although we’ve certainly been affected by having a number of key players missing through injury.
“After finishing third in the table and reaching the FA Cup final last season, though, a lot was expected of us this season and we’ve not delivered until Wednesday.
“Winning at Donny, which is always a tough place to go because of the local rivalry, was a big boost for us and we’re now looking forward to Sunday with confidence.
“Bristol were a real force in the League last year and finished just below us, but like ourselves they’ve been inconsistent up to now this season.
“So if you look at the form book it could go either way, but we’re desperate to get some more wins under our belt and we’ll be giving it our all for another three points.”
Immediately after the League game Smith will dash south to meet up with the England squad for Monday’s flight to Prague.
After facing the Czech Republic on Sunday week England move on to Spain for the last of their qualifying group matches.
Victory in both games – and England head into the double header with an unbeaten qualifying record – will guarantee a place at next year’s finals in Finland.
Smith says: “We are definitely capable of winning both matches, but they will both be very tough against difficult opponents.
“In our home games against them the Czechs held us to a goalless draw and we only beat Spain 1-0 in a really hard battle.
“So we know we are going to have our work cut out, but we are ready for the challenge and absolutely determined to make it through to the finals.”
Source:fa.com |
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