Guiseley Vixens make the trip to Crewe Alexandra this Sunday in the hope of making it ten league games unbeaten.
The home side go into the game without a win in four games and are in 11th place, just one off the foot of the table. The Vixens are still three points clear at the top of the league.
The Guiseley squad is as yet unconfirmed but the Vixens will travel without Sarah Danby who isn’t available. Long term injuries still rule out players but there is good news as new Vixens’ signing Northern Ireland U-19s international Chelsea Sheerin could make the trip.
Joint manager Kyle O’Reilly said: “We prepare the best we can for the opposition we face and this time it is Crewe. League position and form don’t always count for a lot. We beat Mossley Hill 3-2 at home, who were bottom of the league, yet beat Leeds a week later 5-1 away. In both of those games we played equally as well but on paper Mossley looked the tougher game for us. Crewe are second bottom but we don’t look at league standing too much as it doesn’t count for much sometimes.”
This is the first time the two teams meet and preparation for such a game is key.
O’Reilly added:”We look at every team’s weaknesses and strengths and plan accordingly and there is no difference here. I think that’s part of the reason we’re having a good season as having good players doesn’t necessarily mean success.
“We have seen that time and time again. In all levels of football you have to work hard as a whole club collectively to prosper and do well so to pick out flaws in other teams is a part of that.”
The Vixens are having more and more new names on the team sheet and squad depth will be vital come the end of the season with injuries and absences.
O’Reilly reflected: “I think depth helps to a point because as coaches we set up to win a specific game against specific opposition as opposed to playing the best eleven,week in week out. Every game is a different puzzle that needs solving and every player is a different solution to those different puzzles. This in itself means a lot of rotation and differing styles of play but thankfully the girls are professional and understand the logic so it’s a great thing to have.”
The team is growing stronger week by week and O’Reilly said that this was probably down to just spending more time together as a squad.
He said: “This collective is a brand new group compared to most teams in the league and even the region. It’s easy to forget that when the results look nice but I feel both the firsts and development squad will continue to grow the more we train and play.
“I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface yet with how good this team could be.”
Sunday’s game is away at Crewe Alexandra’s ground, The Cumberland Arena (CW1 2BD) and kick-off is 2pm
Words by Oliver Coultas
Photo: Alex Daniel
