Everton manager Andy Spence admits his side cannot afford a slow start in FA Women’s Super League 2 after being handed a tough opening fixture at Aston Villa.
Despite reaching The FA Women’s Cup Final last season, Everton found it tough going in FA WSL 1 – finishing bottom without a win.
However, the Toffees will be gunning for a swift return to the top tier and first up are fellow promotion contenders Villa, who finished in fourth place in FA WSL 2 last year.
Aston Villa Ladies v Everton Ladies
The FA WSL2
7.30pm, Wednesday 18 March 2015
Sutton Coldfield Central Ground
Tickets: £3 - adults; £1 - concessions
And Spence admits the Merseysiders will have to be at their very best if they are to get their campaign off on the right foot.
"I’m under no illusions this is one of the hardest fixtures we could start off with," he said.
"To start with an away game is hard enough but Villa are also a top side. We are going have to be on our A-game if we want to get the three points that we need to get our season started the right way.
"We made a conscious decision to come back to training in December to really ensure that we got last season’s disappointment out of our system.
"Credit to all the girls it has been fantastic and preparations have gone really well. The group is feeling confident now going into this season.
"If anything I believe we’re stronger in attack this year than last year because previously we struggled to get goals but now I think we pose even more of an attacking threat."
Villa and England Under-23s midfielder Sherry McCue insists her side must come out of the blocks blazing this time around after a slow start to last season’s FA WSL 2 campaign.
McCue and company finished last year strongly after an excellent end-of-season showing, but they took eight games to notch their first FA WSL 2 win.
Over the pre-season Villa coach Joe Hunt has tested his side’s credentials against some of the best teams in the country including fixtures against Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal.
And while some of the results did not go their way, McCue is confident her team are now more prepared to deal with the challenge of playing an unfamiliar Everton side.
"I really like playing against the best sides, it’s important to get an idea of where we are as a team," she explained.
"Playing Everton is a bit like walking into the unknown because they’re coming down from the division above, so we don’t really know what to expect.
"Last season we made a terrible start – I think we lost the opening five games of the season.
"So to pull one out of the bag against Everton and get a good result in our opening fixture in the league would be a real boost."
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