Ewe Rams aim to take a grip
DERBY County Ladies manager Sam Griffiths goes into tomorrow’s game with Sheffield WFC with the sole focus on strengthening the club’s second place in the FA National League Northern Division.
The Ewe Rams have played more games than the teams around them but Griffiths believes having the points in the bag means that the pressure is on other clubs to win their games in hand.
“I’m a firm believer in that having points on the board is a good thing at this stage of the season, particularly with the poor weather we’ve been having,” she said.
“Some clubs have only played a third of their games so far and so fixture congestion could be a factor.
“We’ve got two tough games coming up in consecutive weeks, first this weekend against a Sheffield side battling for their lives and then we welcome a resurgent Middlesbrough next weekend. As we’ve always said, having those points on the board is crucial and can put the pressure on those chasing you.
“We can’t and won’t be complacent as, on their day, any club can be taking points off each other and we have to be giving 100% all the time as the quality on show in women’s football just gets stronger and stronger and we are now seeing a really competitive league throughout.”
That competitiveness was evident in the previous fixture with Sheffield WFC where, despite the final 7-0 margin, it took the Ewe Rams a while to break their opponents down.
Griffiths knows the dangers of their side, with a few former Derby players in their squad.
“The game just before Christmas ended up being a comfortable victory but it was anything but that,” she said.
“It was one of manager Graham Abercrombie’s first few games at the club and we saw that battling ethos that he always gets out of a side.
“Add on another two months of work behind them and Sheffield are going to be a tough side to break down and we cannot go into that game thinking it will be a walk in the park. We need to put the previous game out of our mind and focus on playing for 90 minutes at a high intensity.
“They’ve got a few players we know all about and, in Molly Johnson and Lisa Giampalma, they have a former Derby County Ladies player of the season and a goalscoring legend of the game.
“Add in both Megan Clarkson and Stephanie Smith, we know they are great players and will want to get one over on their old club.
“If we can do what we know we can for 90 minutes we’ll give ourselves a good chance for another three points and we’re looking forward to getting back out on the field.
“Our aim is to finish as high in the table as possible and three points this weekend and another three points against Middlesbrough would do our prospects the world of good.” ■■Tomorrow’s FA National League Northern Division game with Sheffield WFC is being played at Etwall Leisure Centre with a 2pm kick-off and free entry. Follow @DerbycountyLFC for Twitter commentary from 1pm.