Mel Reay has previewed SAFC Women’s hotly anticipated opening match in the Barclays Women’s Championship, as her Lasses side contest the Wear Derby on Sunday with Durham at Maiden Castle.
The 2022-23 curtain raiser has thrown up the most eagerly awaited fixture of the season as the team make the short trip down the A690 – and Reay is embracing Sunday’s challenge.
“Off the back of the Euros, what a great way this opening fixture is for the North East to come together and get down to Maiden Castle to watch two teams open their Championship season,” the Women’s Head Coach declared.
“It was really nice to see around 800 fans in Eppleton for our final friendly of pre-season against Nottingham Forest last weekend, and we’ve had a productive pre-season, bringing in a lot of the players we identified earlier in the year as those who could improve our squad.
“It’s a local derby which will be competitive, and we don’t expect anything else. Durham are ambitious, they’ve gone full-time, but that’s always a work in progress – we’re looking to compete from the first whistle.”
Reay emphasised the importance of beginning the season on the front foot in a similar way to this time last year, when the Lasses began the campaign with a win on the road.
“It’s now sold out on Sunday, so it’ll be great to play in front of a packed house. It’s always great for the girls to play in front of as many fans as possible.
“We started last season with a win at Coventry United, which put us in really good stead moving forward. We consolidated ourselves in the Championship and picked up some very good results along the way – we want a similar start this time around.
“Of course fans want the bragging rights, but for us it’s the opening game of the season, and no matter who it’s against, we want to start positively and look to get the three points.”
Finally, the Women’s boss updated supporters on the fitness bill of her squad.
Keira Ramshaw and Neve Herron are ruled out of the weekend’s game but are making steady progress towards their respective returns, while Abby Towers and Emily Hutchinson continue their rehabilitation programmes.
“Everyone’s available bar Keira and Neve, and of course the long-termers. We’ve had some good news on Keira – she’ll have her boot off next week, and it’s not as bad as we first feared. Neve will be a little bit longer.
“Meg Beer and Abbey Joice were absent last weekend, but they’ll be back and in contention for Sunday.”