Coventry City Ladies have been handed a mouth-watering third round tie in the Women’s FA Cup as they take on last season’s nemesis Derby County at the Westwood Heath Sports Grounds. The tie will be played this Sunday (the 13th) at 13:00 and will offer the Sky Blues the chance to exact a measure of revenge over the team that pipped them for promotion on the last day of the 2008/2009 season.
The two sides split their league games last season as goals from on loan midfielders Chrissie Torkildsen and Milly Durrant helped City to a 2-1 win at home before a resilient Rams side came from behind twice to beat the Sky Blues 3-2 in the reverse fixture. From that point on City were always chasing Derby but edged ahead with a 6-1 win against relegated Loughborough in their final fixture to put pressure on the Rams as they had to wait for their final match with Crewe.
Needing a win Derby fell behind early in the prestige fixture at Pride Park, the Rams came back to take a 2-1 lead but were pegged back before the break. A converted penalty in the first minute of the second half was the springboard for Derby to romp away with the tie and doom City to a third straight second place finish.
City Manager Paul Cudby insists revenge is not at the forefront of his squad’s thinking, instead they’re looking at the game as a barometer of their progress this year. "Everyone's really looking forward to playing Derby, they proved that over the course of last season they were the better team. They've clearly improved again following their promotion but we've improved a lot too, in every department, and it'll be a really good challenge for us. We've a 100% record at home this season so it should set things up for a really good game of football".
Through nine matches at home this season, City have won every one, outscoring their opponents 28-8 in the process. Derby have had some notable results recently after initially struggling to find their feet in the Premier League Northern Division, they currently sit ninth with 13 points from 13 games. In contrast the Sky Blues have an eight point cushion at the top of the Midland Women’s Combination League.