Women's Team captain Kirsty Chambers excited for tonight's County Cup final

Ahead of tonight’s County Cup final, the Reds third fixture in the last five days, United got the week off to a perfect start on Sunday with captain Kirsty Chambers playing a huge part in their 9-2 win at Crewe Alexandra LFC Development Squad. Chambers got five assists in total, all in the second half, and believes that she just need to change the simpler things at the interval to improve her performance!

"Well for starters I changed my boots! They were a lot lighter on my feet which was what I needed. In the first half I was making so many mistakes and getting frustrated with myself so at half time I knew I had to compose myself in the second half and deliver what I knew that I could. I composed myself more, had more confidence when going forward and it seems to have paid off".

Four of Chambers’ five assists in that second half were for striker Jess Battle. The two have continued to strengthen a blossoming partnership, on the pitch, throughout this season and admits that Battle is a pleasure to linkup with. "Jess is an amazing player, not just because she can score goals but she is willing to work hard and week in week out she delivers. She’s played a massive part in our success this season. I’ve known Jess for 14 years but we have always played against each other so now that we are playing together it’s showing how much we understand how we both play and as a result, we can link up well on the pitch".

Following Sunday’s win at Crewe, the Reds made it back-to-back league wins in a matter of days with a 4-1 win at Altrincham FC Ladies on Wednesday night. Chambers was delighted with another huge win in the Reds’ title push this season. "Wednesday was a massive game for us, not only because we wanted to get another three points but to put right what happened the last time we played them. We weren’t willing to come away with anything less than the three points and we achieved that. Everyone was on a massive high in the dressing room after, three points and a good win on a tough playing surface and as a result, we’re now one step closer to that league title".

With two wins from two already this week, United go into tonight’s Cup final in high spirits as they look to retain the trophy for the first time in the team’s history. Chambers admits that current mentality in the dressing room is at a unique level. "The mindset is better than ever, positivity is key and we don’t underestimate what’s put in front of us, we approach every game the same, we set the standards ourselves and we will keep those standards right up until the end of the season. Everyone is focused more than ever and motivated to win every game".

Tonight’s cup final won’t be an unfamiliar environment for Chambers. Having been unfortunate in previous years, the captain made her mark on the competition last season, scoring twice in the final, including the ’goal of the finals’, to help the Reds be on the winning side, for the first time in the team’s history. Chambers couldn’t be more motivated to get going on Friday night. "I can’t put into words how excited I am for tomorrow’s game, this cup is a massive one for me, loosing out on it a couple of times has been devastating but we changed that last year when we won it. This time we’re going into it as the current holders of the cup, myself and the players are more than ready to deliver the team performance that is needed to retain that cup".

Despite playing in the final last season, Chambers insists that tonight’s experience will definitely be different to last year’s win over City of Manchester Ladies. Tonight, the Reds face Manchester Stingers in an attempt to defend the trophy. "The experience of playing in the County Cup final is to never to be underestimated, every game, every team is different. We are aware of the pitch and the condition it is in so we will adapt our game to suit the surface. Everyone needs to stay positive, be confident and be together, if we do that, I’m more than sure that we will succeed".

In Manchester Stingers, the Reds face higher league opposition in the final for the second straight season. Having beaten City of Manchester Ladies at this stage last season and teams such as Merseyrail Bootle already this season, Chambers believes that the league gap will have no effect on the outcome of the result. "We are so confident at the moment, especially after the league run that we’ve had. We approach every game the same, with the same attitude and tomorrow will be no different. They [Manchester Stingers] might be a league above us but to us that doesn’t matter. We have proven we can beat teams from that league and tomorrow we will hopefully prove that again".

You can see Chambers and the Reds take on Manchester Stingers in the 2018 Manchester FA Women’s Cup final, tonight at Brookburn Road (M21 8FE) - 7.30pm KO.

We hope to see you there!

By Mikey Partington