Liverpool Women Prepare for Chelsea Challenge in FA Cup Semi-Final
A difficult league season could be redeemed with a trip to Wembley for the FA Cup final under interim manager Amber Whiteley.
It’s been a difficult season for Liverpool Women, with a side that finished fourth last season and looked prime to make a more permanent push into the upper tier of the Super League and challenge for the European places falling short of expectations.
There’s still a chance for them to make something special of their season, though, with an Women’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea on Saturday and with it a chance to reach a final and perhaps end the 2024-25 campaign with significant silverware.
“The FA Cup is one of the biggest competitions in the women’s game and it is steeped in history,” manager Amber Whiteley said ahead of the match. “It is the first time we have reached this stage in eight years and we want to go one step further.”
Whiteley took over for Matt Beard at the end of February when he and the club agreed to part ways, and since then her Reds have recorded a pair of wins and a losses in the league along with a 1-0 victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
In the league, that marks an uptick to 1.5 points per game having earned 1.07 points per game under Beard this season, and any victory over Arsenal—currently second to league leaders Chelsea with both perennial title favourites—is noteworthy.
“We know how much quality Chelsea have throughout their squad and we respect them,” Whiteley added of this weekend’s challenge. “But we have the belief we can cause any team problems—we proved that with the win at Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
“The prize doesn’t come much bigger than the opportunity to play in an FA Cup final at Wembley. We have the opportunity to do something really special in this competition, and we have to go into the game prepared and with confidence and belief.”
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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