Dagný Brynjarsdóttir says that West Ham United Women will need to produce a disciplined performance when they take on Manchester City at the Academy Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Hammers take on the Citizens in front of the Sky Sports cameras, with the game being the first match back for both teams after the April international break concluded last week.
Brynjarsdóttir was one of eleven players that jetted off, with the midfielder scoring for Iceland in their 1-1 draw with New Zealand in Ankara.
Now, attention turns back to a tough match in the Barclays Women’s Super League, and the Hammers skipper believes that her side showed that they have what it takes to compete against the Citizens when the two sides met back in January, with her side narrowly losing out 1-0 at Chigwell Construction Stadium.
“We know that it will be a really tough game,” Brynjarsdóttir told whufc.com.
“We played really well against them in our previous meeting back in January and narrowly lost. We need to make sure that we stay in the game by being disciplined defensively because we know that they’re a team that like to have a lot of the ball – they’re probably the best team in the league in terms of how they keep it.
“If we can do that, we know that we have the quality to create chances when we go forward, it’s just a matter of making sure that we put them away. We know that they’re on a good run of form, but we’ve won at their ground previously, and we shouldn’t be scared of what they can do.”
The Captain has welcome the extra week that the squad have had to prepare for this fixture. Whilst usually the team would have a very short period between reporting back for duty at Club level and heading into the next fixture, this time around the team have had a full week to prepare.
“It’s been a real luxury to have this time together as a group,” Brynjarsdóttir explained.
“Usually the turnaround is really quick after an international break, you might have two full sessions together before we play a game, so it’s been a nice change.
"We should be super ready for what we’re going to come up against, and hopefully the extra time that we’ve had as a group will help us heading into the weekend.”
The Hammers have five WSL fixtures remaining before the 2022/23 season concludes, with Sunday’s trip Manchester the longest away trip left to undertake before the campaign ends.
And whilst the Hammers aren’t in the fight for any silverware or European qualification, Brynjarsdóttir and her teammates want to finish as high up the table as they possibly can.
“We have to be focused throughout all of these five remaining games, it’s a really good opportunity for us to make sure that we finish the season strongly. We may not be competing at the top or in any cup competitions, but it’s about taking each game as it comes and making sure that we come away at the end of the season with as many points as we can.
“We know that things haven’t been good in the league since the turn of the year, but there’s still 15 points up for grabs between now and when the full time whistle blows to end the campaign – we want to make sure we’re happy with our season come the end of it.”
