Millie Bright has urged her Chelsea Women teammates to continue their ruthless form when we visit in-form Everton in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League on Sunday.
Centre-back Bright was on the scoresheet during last weekend’s 6-0 drubbing of Birmingham, a win which restored the Blues to the WSL summit with seven games of the season played.Emma Hayes’s side have won six and drawn one in the league this season, and found top gear in the Midlands to hit six without reply and stay a point clear of nearest rivals Manchester City and Arsenal.Sunday’s trip to Merseyside will be a tough test for the Blues, with Everton currently fourth in the table after three successive wins, but while our vice-captain respects Sunday’s opponents she has called on her team-mates to maintain the desire and hunger that has so far seen us unbeaten in all competitions this campaign.The 26-year-old said: ‘Our mentality going into every single game this year is to put on a great performance and get the win.
‘For us one thing that we are really pushing for in training and games is to be clinical and even when we get two/three goals, we are not just settling for those.‘We want to keep going, keep raising the bar and keep showing the league that we are here to win and that we are a dominant team in the league.‘It was a great win [on Sunday] and I think it was the first time we have been really clinical in the first half and we kind of killed the game but we were able to go on in the second half and produce even more goals and really lift the performance again.‘That’s what we are looking to do in every single game, obviously we know the weekend is going to be a tough one playing away against Everton as they are doing really well at the minute but again we just keep focusing on ourselves and our game plan and we keep pushing each other every day in training.’Everton are among the surprise packages in the WSL this season, with Willie Kirk’s side heading in to Sunday’s game on the back of a three-game winning streak in the league, including a 1-0 win over city rivals Liverpool at Anfield.But while Bright expects a tough battle, she is confident the Blues will have enough to return home with another three points.
‘They have got a lot of young players, they are eager, their intensity of the game is going to be very high and I think it’s going to be a very physical game as they have been in the past,’ added the England international.‘We have a lot of respect for every opponent we play no matter where they are in the table. There have been results that you probably wouldn’t have expected and I think it’s a credit to the league, every season has improved and it’s much harder to win this season.‘I am expecting a tough game, we’re away against a young side with lots of energy and are doing well, so we are going to have to be at our best but as I said we focus on ourselves and get the preparations right then there is no reason why we can’t go and perform like we just have.‘I am so confident in this team and the staff that we are ready for any challenge put in front of us. We just want to keep winning, keep performing and keep scoring goals to make teams fear us. We are excited for every game we come up against.’
We return to Kingsmeadow on Sunday 8 December when we host Manchester City in a top-of-the-table clash. Tickets are £1 for seniors (aged over 65) and juniors (under 20) and adults cost £9.