Olli Harder is hoping that West Ham United Women can advance into the knockout stages of the Continental Tyres League Cup when they face Brighton & Hove Albion in their final group game.
The Hammers only need a point to top Group E having beaten London City Lionesses and Birmingham City in their previous two games, and Harder is hoping that his side can get the job done on Wednesday evening.
“We have a fantastic opportunity to progress into the knockout stages of the Conti Cup. We mustn’t be complacent as the job is not done yet, but we know that everything is in our hands.
“It’s always nice to be able to progress in cup competitions, it breeds confidence and I hope that we will be able to achieve that on Wednesday.”
This is the Irons’ final home fixture of the year, and they will be looking to make amends for the opening day defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
An unfortunate red card to Hawa Cissoko changed the game early September at the Amex Stadium, as the home side went onto win the game 2-0.
“We were disappointed with our defeat against them on the opening day in the WSL, where the red card changed the whole outlook of the match.
“It’s a chance for us to put that result right, and also continue the good form that we have showed at home this season.”
The boss also took some time to reflect on the 1-1 draw with Everton on Sunday afternoon, where the Hammers were pegged back by the Toffee’s late in the second half.
“It was a tough match last time out against Everton, they are a talented side and have put a lot of resources into developing their football club. For us to go there and perform as well as we did, it was almost a bit disappointing that we only came away with one point instead of three.
“However, it does highlight the shift that has been made at the club over the past twelve months. We have a defined way of playing, we’re deadly on the counterattack and we create chances.
“Our aim is to continue that against Brighton and book our place in the knockout stages.”
Tickets for the Conti Cup clash can be purchased by clicking here!
The match is not being streamed by either club, but we will be bringing you live twitter updates as well as the usual array of post-match reaction and highlights pieces on whufc.com.