Everton gear up to welcome an unforgiving opponent in Chelsea this Sunday, as Walton Hall Park plays host to a quarterfinal clash in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup. Toffees manager Brian Sørensen spoke to the media on Friday morning in an official club press conference, as he previewed the challenge that lies ahead for his side.
Everton’s upcoming opponents scraped past Manchester City to earn Conti Cup delight on Thursday night, as Lauren James’ first-half strike proved to be the difference at Joie Stadium. Sørensen reflected on Chelsea’s performance, digesting what his side can derive from the fixture ahead of their meeting with the Blues.
‘They are very ruthless with their chances that they created, and put one in. They defended really well in the key moments and I think the keeper [Hannah Hampton] was really excellent. That’s Chelsea – if they have a lead they can keep on to it, and they have the quality.’
‘There’s nothing new in terms of what they’re doing, or something that was surprising me. So we’ve been preparing the whole week for this game, and I think they are used to playing these back to back games with three in a week.’
Embed from Getty ImagesEverton have faced an onslaught of injury woes as the 2023/24 campaign has progressed, with the added blow of a dual departure in Nathalie Björn [to Chelsea and Nicoline Sørensen [retired] during the winter transfer window. Brian Sørensen reflected on how his side have dealt with the piling challenges, expressing that ‘I think my team deserves a lot of credit.’
‘It’s basically only been Megan [Finnigan] that’s been the only consistent player without any injuries. So for a team like us to be able to still have such a good defence that we’ve been having, I just have to credit my players for stepping up and finding new ways to set a team up.’
A victory over the Blues on Sunday could prove a monumental achievement given recent roadblocks experienced, something Sørensen was very sure to account for. He said: ‘Despite extremely hard circumstances, we’ve been consistent in what we’ve been doing. Hopefully on Sunday we can finally get one over the line, it’s the FA Cup so we just have to put everything in to it.’
Brian Sørensen’s Everton side prepare to host Chelsea this Sunday in the quarterfinal stage of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup at Walton Hall Park, with proceedings getting underway at 13:00.
