Sunderland Ladies aiming to get back to winning ways in FA Cup
Sunderland Ladies are set to face Brighouse Town tomorrow as Mel Reay’s side are set to start their Women’s FA Cup journey at the third round stage.
The clash away from home in West Yorkshire offers the chance to bounce back from last weekend’s 7-0 loss against Women’s Super League side Aston Villa in the League Cup.
“It’s about learning and moving forward,” Reay explained to safc.com.
“We always knew Sunday was going to be a tough game against a professional WSL outfit in Aston Villa.
“We’re ambitious and we want to be at that level in the future, but it’s not a stage we’re at yet.
"And with the injuries that we had, it was a tough game to play in, but this is a new week and they’ve trained fantastically to try and put in a better performance at Brighouse.”
Brighouse earned promotion to the third tier last season and compete in the division below Sunderland Ladies.
“We’ve played them a couple of times, and they’re a good side,” Reay added.
“Rob has a competitive squad there who have just been promoted into the third tier.
“We’re expecting a tough game against a well-organised team.
"Everyone wants to play which is good, and the focus
for us is to ensure we have players available for Sheffield United in the league the following week.
The Wearsiders are still suffering from a few absentees and injuries which hamstrung the Ladies head coach before Sunderland Ladies faces Aston Villa.
Reay, though, says a decision on a number of players will not be made until the last minute.
“We’re still monitoring players at the moment so there isn’t a definitive update just yet.
“We’ve had a couple who have been ill during the week too, so it’s a call we’ll just have to make nearer the game itself.
“We’ve made no secret that the league takes priority for us.
"However, we play football to win – we’ll mix it up a bit and Sunday and Wednesday gives us a chance to gain important momentum and match sharpness.
"It’s a chance for Ladies' players to show what they can do.”