Paul Konchesky is hoping that his West Ham United Women’s side can get their first three points on the board in the Continental Tyres League Cup on Sunday.
The Hammers welcome Birmingham City to Chigwell Construction Stadium for a 3pm kick-off, and the boss is hoping that his side can put themselves in a good position to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition by winning their second group stage fixture.
After drawing with London City Lionesses in their opening group stage game, they then gained an extra point by beating the Barclays Women’s Championship outfit in an agonising penalty shoutout which saw 26 penalties taken in total.
Their upcoming opponents beat Brighton & Hove Albion in their opening match of Group C, and arrive in east London as the team to chase at the top.
And Konchesky believes that his team have what it takes to get the result that they desire, but need to guard against complacency on Sunday afternoon.
We’re going into the game with some momentum
It was really good that we were able to get back to winning ways last time out against Leicester City, so that’s given the group a lot of confidence going into this game.
Winning breeds confidence, and I think confidence is incredibly important – particularly in these cup matches where you’re coming up against teams from different levels.
We want to do well in this competition
As a team, this is a competition that we want to try and do well in. It’s a realistic chance of silverware for us and that’s got to be our aim.
I’ve been involved in plenty of cup matches when I was a player, and they do have a different feel to them.
We did well to come back into the game against London City Lionesses, but we need to show a little bit more from the start in this game.
We were uncharacteristically slow in starting the game against them and had to come from two goals down to get the draw, so we want to avoid anything like that today and start strong.
Birmingham will give us a good game
We know from when we played Birmingham last season that they’re a very physical side and can make it difficult for you. Their manager is obviously the same one that was in charge towards the end last season, so we have a good idea of what to expect.
They have a good mix of younger talent, and more experienced pro’s, and we need to make sure that we guard against complacency and come out on top in the battles that will be coming our way.
Our fans will be important once again
We know it’s going to be another tough game, so the supporters will be needed to help the team through difficult moments.
It’s also our last home fixture of 2022, so I’m hoping that the fans will come down and cheer on the team at home for one last time before the year is out.
Tickets for the match against Birmingham City are available to purchase online up until 2pm on the day of the match! Click on the graphic below to get yours now!
