West Ham United Women’s captain, Gilly Flaherty has said that the fans will play a crucial role in their Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Saturday.
The Hammers are looking to make it through to the final of the FA Cup for the second time in their professional history, and they will require the full support of the Hammers faithful if they are to advance beyond the Citizens this weekend.
Olli Harder’s team are facing City for the second time in as many games, losing 2-0 at the Chigwell Construction Stadium last time out - almost two weeks ago.
But Flaherty is backing her team to put up a strong challenge against the three-time FA Cup champions as she looks to return to Wembley with the Hammers.
“The fans are going to be crucial for us out there on Saturday,” Flaherty told whufc.com. "When you hear them in the stands singing for us, it really motivates you as an individual player, but it also does so much for you as a team.
“There’s no denying that it’s going to be a tough occasion, and we’re really going to have to play well to get a result, but with the backing of our supporters on the day, I think anything is possible out there.”
The Irons have overcame plenty of challenges on their way to the semi-final of the competition, shaking off FA Championship outfit, Sheffield United in the third round, before beating Reading at the Select Car Leasing Stadium to advance into the quarter-finals.
A tough tie against third tier side Ipswich Town at the Goldstar Ground was navigated by Flaherty and her team-mates in the quarter-finals to book their place in this contest with the Citizens.
Flaherty is hoping that the team can not only build on their defeat in Dagenham two weeks ago, but also from their 2-0 victory at the Academy Stadium earlier on in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League (WSL) campaign.
“I think as a team, we’ll need to look back at what we did well in the 2-0 win against them in October, and also analyse what we didn’t get quite right in the game two weeks ago.
“If you look back at the game, their two goals came from mistakes on our part – we gave the ball away for the first goal and for the second, we allowed Bunny Shaw to have a free header inside the box.
“I think as my career has gone on, the gap between the top three sides in the division and the rest of the teams has gotten smaller and smaller has each season has passed. I know that managers have spoken to Olli [Harder] and said that they know that if they don’t get it right against us, then we could walk away with a result.
“That’s a big pat on the back for us, but we know that we’ll still need to play at our best they’re not just going to hand anything on a plate for us. I believe that, as a squad, we have the right mindset to get a result.”
Flaherty and the team need your support against Manchester City on Saturday, with tickets for the match available to purchase online.
Tickets can also be purchased at the Chigwell Construction Stadium from 10:15am on the day of the match!
Alternatively, the game is being broadcast live on BBC One from 11.30am BST on Saturday morning.
We will also be bringing you live Twitter updates, as well as exclusive reaction to follow after the full-time whistle right here on whufc.com.
