Lauren Smith says a blend of confidence and ambition can be the main ingredients for a Conti Cup quarter-final upset when Bristol City host holders Manchester City at Ashton Gate this evening.
The Vixens are plotting revenge from 12 months ago when the two sides met at the same stage of the competition with Man City running out 3-1 winners. Smith says her team are in a better place this time around to pull off a result, particularly with the home advantage.
City currently sit second in the Women's Championship having won seven and lost just one of their 10 matches this season. Their opponents, on the other hand, are fourth in the Women's Super League (WSL) and remain very much in the title hunt.
Although with ambitions to be playing in the WSL next season, Smith knows this fixture will be a true test of their ability and an ideal platform to set their own standards. "We competed last year for 90 minutes," the Head Coach told Bristol Live. "Yes, the result didn't go our way but we scored a cracking goal and defended well for the majority of the game.
"Maybe some tiredness crept in towards the end and we conceded a couple of goals quite quickly. This year we are doing even better in the league so as a squad, we are in a better place. So expect what we did last year but better and maybe we can make it last a bit longer.
"It's almost like a free hit. We want to play in the WSL, we're playing against a WSL opponent so let's see where we are at and what we need to change or get better at before that changes one day.
"Obviously our feet are firmly on the ground in the sense that it's a whole different kettle of fish, in terms of the league, tempo and intensity but we'll take the confidence from the league and the ambition of our players that we've got here in being able to compete and we'll see what happens when those things come together.
"There's far more to come from this group of players and they know it as well. We're not at the top of the tank right now so if we can go and show that quality - which I think we showed in pre-season - and we can play with that quality and confidence again, that's the pressure to make sure we perform at our best. So it's against our own standards."
Manchester City are understandable favourites heading into the tie. They are unbeaten in their last 13 matches, have yet to concede in their Conti Cup group stage and have the likes of Euro winners Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly, Ellie Roebuck and Demi Stokes at their disposal.
For Smith, the message to her players and the build-up remains the same. She added: "We've planned for this game like we plan and prep for most games.
"We look at the opposition and what we're going to change in our own gameplan. Nothing has changed in terms of that.
"We've obviously spoken about Man City's quality and the types of players and movement they have but it's another opponent and we're just going to go into it and do the best we can and if anything, it will prepare us even more for the rest of the season.
"They've got great balance so when they're defending or attacking high up they are hard to beat from your own half so that's something that we're going to have to work around.
"I think there are opportunities from open play and in the middle of the pitch to isolate the defenders 1 vs 1 and 2 vs 2. I think that's what we want to do and that is how we play anyway. There is some pressure and expectation as well from our side. We want to make sure that we do compete.
"We don't want it to look like we can't and there's a big gulf in what we need to do so that's part of it. I don't believe there is a big gulf.
"If we play the best that we can we'll be in a really good place. I don't think this season yet we've hit the ground running and kept it consistent."
Over 2,000 tickets have been sold for the clash and due to the high demand, the game has been moved from the High Performance Centre to Ashton Gate which magnifies the importance of the game. Smith remains proud of the supporters and the club for being able to accommodate their fixture.
She said: "I'm proud we've got the following. Obviously, the interest to some extent will be that Manchester City are coming and they've got some famous players in there. I think that is part of it but the fact they want to come and watch it is excellent.
"What I'm also proud of is how the club adapted so quickly. We could have had a sell-out crowd at the HPC but that still wouldn't have facilitated everybody that wanted to come and watch. The fact we can change it at a moment's notice, the club, Ashton Gate and the board support that decision to go and make it as big as possible."
SIGN UP: For our daily Robins newsletter, bringing you the latest from Ashton Gate
READ NEXT
