Helen Dermody expressed her happiness at netting her first league goal since November, as she set Coventry City Ladies on their way to a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City on Sunday.
The midfielder was teed up by Courtney Sweetman-Kirk to put the Sky Blues ahead in the first-half, before Karen Clough came off the bench to wrap up the points with ten minutes remaining. It was the first time Coventry had won three games on the bounce in a frustratingly inconsistent season.
At the start of the current campaign, Dermody admitted that she was ‘’disappointed’’ with her goal return last season, and had targeted seven goals, a total she surpassed in February’s 2-1 Women’s FA Cup victory over Morecambe. Dermody’s strike on Sunday took her tally to 10 goals in all competitions this season, half of which have come in the FA Women’s Premier League.
‘’My performances this season have been a little bit mixed,’’ admitted Dermody. ‘’But I'm pleased that I have managed to reach and exceed the target of goals that I set at the start of the season, but I wouldn't have been able to do this without my teammates, as well as gaining a lot more confidence in front of goal.’’
Manager Chris Holloway made two changes to the team that beat bottom of the table Barnet last weekend, bringing in Jade Formaston and Natalie Reay for Clough and recent signing Laura McQuilkin. Goalkeeper Susan Wood – an ever-present in the Sky Blues line-up this season – praised the ‘’strength in depth’’ of the team, as well as looking forward to the remainder of the season.
‘’We’ve got great strength in depth across the team, especially with the players returning from injuries recently,’’ said Wood, who picked up her fifth clean sheet in the league in Sunday’s victory. ‘’Kim (Walton) has made a huge difference since her return and I am confident in the whole squad to keep performing until the end of the season.’’
She added: ‘’we have hit a good run of form in time for the Birmingham FA County Cup Final, but it's important to focus on one game at a time. As it stands, we are aiming for a win against Aston Villa in our next match, and to finish as high as possible.’’
The win keeps them in seventh position in the FA Women’s Premier League, and they are now just a point behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, who they meet a week on Thursday.
The in-form Sky Blues make the short trip to take on their local rivals, for what will be the fifth meeting between the sides already this season. Each team has two victories to their name this season, although Villa won the solitary league tie 3-1 back in November.
The fixture takes place on Thursday 2nd May at Boldmere St Michael's FC, and will kick off at 7.30pm.