London Bees defender Aoife Hurley admits she is looking forward to playing against her idols in this season’s FA WSL Continental Tyres Cup – and plotting their downfall.
The competition, which began in 2011, is unique as both FA WSL 1 and 2 teams compete against each other, making up three groups of six teams before progressing to the quarter-final stages.
Second-tier Bees will line up in Group One alongside the current FA WSL 1 top two in Chelsea and Arsenal, while Reading, Watford and Wednesday’s opponents Millwall Lionesses also lie in wait.
Millwall Lionesses v London Bees
The FA WSL Continental Tyres Cup
Group 1
7.45pm, Wednesday 22 July 2015
Beckenham Town FC
£5 adults and £2 concessions
By Jack Miller
Hurley, 19, grew up watching Arsenal dominate the women’s game while Chelsea stars such as Eniola Aluko and Katie Chapman have been shining lights over the past decade.
Yet while the teenager revealed her admiration for some of her upcoming opponents, she also believes the Bees can cause a surprise sting.
"The Continental Tyres Cup is a great experience as it offers you the chance to play against players who you looked up to as you were growing up," said Hurley.
"You get better yourself by playing against the best, and I really think we can compete now with every team in our group, whether that be against Arsenal, Chelsea or Millwall.
"We’ve had some good results against Millwall already this season which fills us with confidence. We’ve played them twice and know what they’re about, and we’ll treat the game in the same way as before – we just want to go in with the belief that we can win."
London Bees remain undefeated against the Lionesses this term having kicked off the WSL 2 season with a 0-0 draw in March before following that up with a 2-1 victory at home in May.
Dionne Lennon is targeting a place in the last eight for Millwall Lionesses
Yet while Millwall currently lie above their opponents in the league table and will fancy their chances at home – the Bees have yet to win on their travels so far this campaign.
And Lionesses captain Dionne Lennon insists there is no reason why they cannot target a place in the last-eight.
"We feel like we haven’t always got the results we deserve this season, but that’s football, you don’t always get what you deserve," she added.
"The Continental Tyres Cup is a competition that we want to do as well as we can in and we’re looking to get out of the group stage and into the next round.
"It doesn’t matter whether it’s the league or a cup, we want to win every game – so the Continental Tyres Cup is one that we are targeting.
"It will also give some of our bench players a chance to show what they can do."
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