Women’s football

MARC SKINNER insists Manchester United need to be at their best to avoid a ‘banana skin’ moment against Lewes later. The Red Devils visit the Dripping Pan this lunchtime for a quarter-final clash with Scott Booth’s side who are seventh in the second tier. 
Marc Skinner says Lewes can expect Man United to be at ‘their very best’ in their FA Cup quarters clashCredit: Getty
The second tier Rooks are the lowest ranked side left in the competitionCredit: Getty
Skinner said: “From watching their players play back (you can see) they’re trying to play some really effective football,
“If we’re not at the very best of our game, then the banana skin potential comes up.
“We won’t take them lightly and they should expect the very best of us.
“For us it’s about avoiding that by being very good at what we do.”
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Lewes’ home clash with the Red Devils comes five days after the Championship outfit’s call for equal FA Cup prize money. 
Their players signed an open letter addressed to Karen Carney who is leading a government-backed review of the women’s game.
So far their women’s side have received £45,000 for their cup progress.
Men’s sides who reach this stage receive £450,000. 
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And it has been reported the club will receive no fees for their game being broadcast by the BBC.
This in contrast to the £200,000 paid to men’s teams when their quarter-final games are shown on TV. 
Of Lewes’ equal pay call Skinner said: “I think we can never change anything unless we raise the issues that we’re going through. 
“I don’t honestly know the funding mechanisms (for broadcast fees) and why those decisions are made, so it would be foolish of me to say anything on that.
“I support the growth of women’s football and Lewes’ message in terms of how we can continue to grow and the speed at which we’re growing. 
“I commend all of the women at Lewes and everybody who is fighting hard behind the scenes to work for equality and equity because we’re part of that 
“I feel we’re growing but we should always keep looking at that. 
Scott Booth’s players will face Sheffield United in the Championship next following their clash with the Red DevilsCredit: Getty
“Are there ways we can add more money and are there ways we can add more funding to it?”
Skinner’s side will be looking to bounce back from their loss to Chelsea last time out by progressing to the FA Cup’s semi-finals stage. 
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The United boss added: “The players are already hungry and waiting to pounce on any opportunity they get. The energy they have is really good.”
Lewes vs Manchester United in the Women’s FA Cup can be watched live on BBC iPlayer at 12:30pm today More

BETHANY ENGLAND admits it was a relief to deliver “a bit of magic” to help Tottenham end a run of nine losses on the bounce. The hotshot’s wonder strike saw her side claim maximum points with a 1-0 defeat of Leicester ten days before their duel with Arsenal. 
Bethany England’s stunning strike proved be decisive for Tottenham as they sealed their first win in the WSL this yearCredit: Getty
Vicky Jepson and her players leapfrogged Reading to go tenth before their home clash with ArsenalCredit: Getty
Spurs 1-0 win saw them claim their first win in the top tier since their 8-0 defeat of Brighton on October 30Credit: Getty
It also led Spurs, with interim gaffer Vicky Jepson in charge, to pick up a first win in the league since October 30 and following the sacking of Rehanne Skinner on Monday.
And the morale-boosting victory on Wednesday saw the Londoners open up a five point gap on the rock-bottom Foxes who play Aston Villa next.
England admitted: “I wouldn’t say it was the best goal I’ve scored but I would say it is one of the most important.
“It was huge for us as we needed a bit of magic and I am so proud I was able to bring that.
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“I honestly wouldn’t have cared how that ball went into the back of the net because we just needed it so badly.
“There was composure once we did go ahead  to settle the game. We handled that very well. 
“I could not be prouder of the team and also the fans who got behind us and turned up in the rubbish weather because we needed that after the last few days that we’ve had.”
Before the match, Jepson spoke of her players wanting to put things right following a string of losses dating back 
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The Foxes threatened early in a scrappy opening half, with Hannah Cain’s cross claimed by keeper Tinja-Riikka Korpela.
From then on, the most of the best attacking chances fell to the hosts, with Rosella Ayane impressing on the flank.
The forward whipped in a dangerous cross that fizzed past the post near the half-hour mark.
And Drew Spence almost put England through but the striker was offside, before Eveliina Summanen headed wide on the stroke of half-time.
Leicester will hope to bounce back from a second loss in their past four games when they visit Aston Villa on March 26Credit: Getty
Leicester went close to scoring with loan ace Ruby Mace striking the woodwork shortly moments before England’s opener. 
But the deadlock was broken in the 65th minute as Ayane teed up the striker  to curl in a superb top corner shot from 18 yards out.
The result saw Tottenham leapfrog Reading to go ninth ahead of the north London derby next weekend. More

VICKY JEPSON admits seeing Rehanne Skinner leave Tottenham was a “tough pill to swallow” after the axe was dropped on her reign.  And the interim Spurs Women’s manager says her players are ready for a WSL survival fight with the team facing Leicester tomorrow.
Tottenham face Leicester City at home on tomorrow evening in their first game following Rehanne Skinner’s departureCredit: Alamy
Interim Spurs Women’s chief Vicky Jepson says her players will be “ready for the fight” for a first win since NovemberCredit: Getty
Tottenham face a Leicester side who have picked up five points from their last seven WSL gamesCredit: Getty
Jepson was speaking earlier today, a day after the club announced Skinner, 43, had been “relieved of her duties”.
The sacking followed the team slipping to a ninth consecutive WSL match loss since November 20 with Spurs beaten 2-1 by Liverpool on Sunday. 
The run has seen them drop to third from bottom after collecting the fewest points at home in the league this term, before their duel with the Foxes. 
Jepson, 36, told reporters: “It has been difficult and emotional for myself, the staff and the players because we all did love Rehanne. 

“To see her exit the building yesterday was a tough pill to swallow.
“But every single one of us will be so grateful and will never forget the great things she did and the foundations she built. 
“When results aren’t going your way, there’s consequences and it’s always the manager that gets hit with those consequences. 
Reflecting on the emotions of the last 24 hours, Jepson added: “Once we addressed those emotions we had to get our game faces on because the show doesn’t stop in football so that’s our focus.
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“We’ve just lost our manager. That’s not easy to take. The girls are feeling responsible for that and want to put it right.
The intensity on the grass today was through the roof and the positivity around the building was better than I’ve ever seen. 
“I know the players will turn up ready for the fight because it’s an important game for us.
“As soon as I found out the news yesterday I had to address my emotions because I am human too.
“I have a lot of respect for Rehanne. 
“I had to make sure I turned up today with a positive attitude and then we had to focus on the game plan and how we get those three points. That’s been my process until this point.”
Tottenham have been the victors in their past three WSL clashes with Leicester City. 
Results include a 2-1 defeat of the Foxes in their first game of the season.
However the team have dropped nine points from winning positions in top tier games this term and suffered a dip since their 8-0 drubbing of Brighton in November.   
While Jepson is backing her side to bounce back against Willie Kirk’s side, she believes the result of tomorrow’s game will not be a ‘make or break moment’ for Spurs’ season. 
The interim Tottenham gaffer added: “It will be tough. Willie Kirk has done a great job but we’re ready.
“We’ve regrouped and we’re ready to fight for this club together.
“It won’t make or break us because we have enough in our group. 
“It’s an important game but every match is important and none are easy.
“If we get the right result tomorrow then we can regroup from there.”
The Foxes, who are bottom and two points behind Tottenham, have picked up seven points from their last five WSL games. 
They have also kept three clean sheets in five top-flight games played this year. 
Of Leicester’s resurgence, team boss Kirk, 44, said: “Two months ago we had a massive gap between us and the rest of the league.
Willie Kirk says his side are performing like a mid-table team following two wins a draw from their past five league gameCredit: Getty
“But we’ve done so well to close the gap, it’s a credit to the players.
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“We want to be the hunter, not the hunted, that will be our mentality. This season we have always been the hunted.
“If the league started in January we’d be seventh. We’re playing like a mid-table team. We’re in good form.” More

MARC SKINNER hit out at the officiating that saw two Manchester United penalty appeals waved away during their 1-0 loss to Chelsea. Sam Kerr and Lauren James combined to deadly effect as the Blues dented the Red Devils’ title chase. 
Lauren James delivered an inch perfect pass for Sam Kerr to net Chelsea’s winnerCredit: Getty
Manchester United’s second loss in top tier this term saw them drop to second spotCredit: Alamy
Marc Skinner believes United could have had a two penalties during the gameCredit: Getty
A stunning James assist for Kerr’s stylish dinked finish sealed the win ending the Red Devils’ unbeaten run on the road this term 
But Skinner reckons his side had cases for two spot-kicks following Kadeisha Buchanan’s and Jess Carter’s challenges on Nikita Parris and Ona Batlle.
The  United boss said: “They’re two big decisions. That’s the reality in big games. 
“We’ve come here, we’ve had 63% possession and we’ve dominated the ball

“We’ve moved Chelsea into only being able to counter attack and yet we’ve come away having got into the box twice and there were two penalties. 
“Two penalties in a game like this are massive.
“When I look over the balance of the last few games, Chelsea get a goal that’s offside the other day, so these are decisions that will make and break where you finish in the table.
“And we say ‘it balances out’, well, I’m hopeful that we see it, but the reality is in the game we should have had two penalties.”
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James’ pinpoint assist for Kerr saw Chelsea exploit Man United’s high line with a ball punted over their defence. 
Of the goal, Skinner added: “It’s a switch-off moment from us. Sam is really good at invading the backline.
“It’s all we’ve spoken about all week. It’s something we won’t be happy with when we look at it.
“There are different ways to deal with that. If you don’t play a high line at that moment, then they just play in front of you and then go through you anyway.
“The reality is one long ball should be dealt with, and that’s something we have to learn from.”
For the first time a WSL match aired live on the BBC did not feature any BBC Sport presenters or punditry.
The organisation are battling with the fallout of suspending Gary Lineker from Match of the Day following his criticism of the government’s Illegal Immigration Bill.
After the visitors’ early pressure Chelsea got into their stride in attack.
Kerr forced a classy save from Mary Earps in the 11th minute after giving Millie Turner the slip following Melanie Leupolz’s pass forward. 
The deadlock was broken 12 minutes later when the Blues hotshot latched onto James’ inch perfect long delivery before lofting the ball over Earps. 
United’s attempts to draw level saw them make some drives into the box 
Their first spot-kick appeal was waved away by referee Cheryl Foster in the 32nd minute with Buchanan making contact with Parris.  
And Batlle went down in the box moments later after a mid-air challenge with Jess Carter before Alessia Russo prompted a save from Ann-Katrin Berger. 
The second spell saw Kerr and James fire efforts wide of the post before Skinner brought on Martha Thomas and Rachel Williams for Leah Galton and Ella Toone in the 72nd minute. 
This preceded Russo seeing a shot dealt with before the hosts shut up shop shifting to a back five with Magda Eriksson subbed on for Jessie Fleming. 
The title holders, who had just six subs on their bench, wrapped up the win without the services of Guro Reiten and Erin Cuthbert.
The duo are sidelined by illness and a hamstring injury with Chelsea also without Fran Kirby, Pernillle Harder and Katerina Svitkova. 
Boss Emma Hayes, who was in the dugout following a viral bug, said: “Sometimes other teams get a hall pass for injured players.
“We’ve been without Fran Kirby and Pernille Harder (injured) for almost the entirety of the season. 
“This team deserves huge credit as a whole.
“That’s our third game in a week, it’s three points, we’ve done it and we’ve had illness and  injuries in the squad.
“To perform like that, is exactly what I’ve said every week about why the squad matters.
“Players have come into the team and delivered. 
Emma Hayes praised her players for shutting Man United out at KingsmeadowCredit: Getty
“We kept a clean sheet today after an underwhelming performance last weekend against Arsenal
“Erin had a tight hamstring and was not ready for today, Guro was chucking her guts up at home and Jelena was not fit to start. 
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“There’s players inside the dressing room that are hanging on, there might be a bit of a bug. 
“The difference for me is the squad game. Because even if we had three or four subs available the players on the pitch did the job.” More

MARC SKINNER wants Manchester United to show their “mental capacity” in their bid to thwart their title rivals.And the Red Devils chief, 39, praised the form of Alessia Russo and Ona Batlle before United’s clash with Chelsea on Sunday. 
Marc Skinner’s side aim to maintain their unbeaten WSL away run when they visit ChelseaCredit: Getty
A win against the Blues will see Alessia Russo and her team-mates extend their lead to four points at the top of the tableCredit: Getty
The last WSL clash between the sides saw Chelsea seal a 3-1 win at Leigh Sports VillageCredit: PA
Skinner’s league leaders face last term’s champions at Kingsmeadow in what could be a pivotal encounter in this season’s title chase. 
And his players are targeting a first win against the Blues in the top tier, having drawn one and lost five of their previous six WSL duels.
Skinner, whose team crushed Leicester 5-1 last Sunday, said: “This game won’t define the title (race).
“But what it will do (for us) is we have to show that we have the mental capacity to go into these games and not fear an opponent. 
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“When we played them at home (in November) I felt it took us far too long (to get into the game). 
“Both teams weren’t very good in the first half, but when we got into the second half we didn’t maximise our opportunities and potential.
“We’ve shown a lot of resilience and a lot of growth and I want to see that again in this game.
“We have been to this rodeo before. Their team will be fired up coming into this so we have to match that and if not go above it.”
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Skinner’s starting 11 is likely to feature Russo and Batlle with both impressing in Man United’s rout of the Foxes last weekend. 
Russo was on target in both halves becoming the first United player to net a WSL hat-trick. 
The United boss added: “They are massive for us.
“Ona is especially so and Alessia is a huge part of what we do, so if they’re selected it will be a massive help for us.
“We can’t leave anything on the field so we need to make sure we have to put everything into this fixture.”
So far United remain the only side unbeaten on the road in the top tier this term.
The team have won six of their seven games away from home including a memorable 3-2 defeat of Arsenal last November.
They face a Chelsea side who could potentially be without Emma Hayes in the dugout.
The Kingsmeadow chief is recovering from a viral illness that saw her absent from her Friday afternoon press conference.
Blues general manager Paul Green said: “There will be regular communication if Emma wasn’t to make it as we did earlier in the season.
“She will have a direct ear-piece to (assistant manager) Denise (Reddy) on the side-line. We’re hoping she’ll be back.”
The Red Devils have scored 14 goals in their last five games across all competitions and with seven different goal scorers.
This season has seen Leah Galton score six times in 12 WSL games with Russo netting eight goals over the same number of fixtures.
Green added: “We know he’s a very talented player.
“She’s done very well for them and of course she’s going to be a threat, but I don’t think Manchester United are just down to one threat.
Paul Green wants Chelsea to keep Alessia Russo quiet in their clash with United at KingsmeadowCredit: PA
“They’ve got threats all over the pitch, similarly to what we have.
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“As a team we’re going to have to defend well across the whole unit, from front to back.”
“That’s what we’ll be looking to do to keep Alessia quiet and the rest of the United squad.” More

REHANNE SKINNER insists her focus is moving Tottenham “in the right direction” following a string of defeats.Spurs head to Liverpool on Sunday having lost eight WSL games since the November 20th. 
Rehanne Skinner is hoping for another defeat of the Reds following Tottenham’s win against Liverpool last NovemberCredit: Reuters
Tottenham are targeting a return to winning ways with the team yet to pick up three points in the WSL this yearCredit: Getty
Recent results have seen Skinner’s side drawn into the battle to avoid the drop.
The team tenth and three points ahead of bottom-placed Leicester. 
On whether a defeat could affect her position, Skinner, 43, said: “My job is to just keep preparing players in the best way I can. 
“The belief and confidence in the group is high and we have been evolving. 
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“We have played some really tough teams in the run we’ve had.
“I’ve got every belief and confidence in the players and what we’re achieving here. 
“We’re still moving forwards behind the scenes to keep moving the club in the right direction.
“That’s all I’m interested in and focusing on. 
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“The next game is the most important one. We know we need three points.
“That’s what you play for but the positives towards preparing for that have been really good of late. It’s just a matter of time really.”
On whether she has the backing from the board to turn results around, Skinner added: “Nothing has changed in terms of what we’re trying to achieve. It’s a long-term project. 
“That was how it was explained to me before I came into the role. It takes time to get consistency.
“We need to keep improving our performances.”
Last season Spurs enjoyed one their best top tier runs since promotion to the WSL in 2019. 
The team, considered potential dark horses for a top four finish, ended last term in fifth spot. 
However this term have contended with injuries with Ria Percival and Ellie Brazil out of action and Bethany England unavailable last Sunday due to a knock.
But they have been boosted by midfielder Kit Graham’s recent return to fitness and match action.  
Skinner added: “In September and October, we had six senior players unavailable for us, which is huge for anybody’s squad.
“That created some challenges for us in the early part of the season. Overall we’ve focused on trying to get everybody back on the pitch
“We’re coming out the other side of it and that’s a huge positive going into the remaining nine games of the season.”
Liverpool hope to pick their first win in the top tier since their defeat of West Ham in DecemberCredit: Reuters
Liverpool, who are eighth, hope to bounce back from back-to-back losses to Leicester and Arsenal. 
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Reds boss Matt Beard said: “Tottenham are on a run of form I guess they are desperate to put right. 
“All we can do is concentrate on ourselves and how we want to play.” More