Coventry City’s season has been blemished by a constant stream of postponements, which has resulted in just two league games this calendar year, which has understandably left Holloway exasperated.
‘’The situation is difficult,’’ City Ladies boss Chris Hollway stated. ‘’The ladies can train over and over, but there is nothing like playing matches to get them up to speed and playing at a level we know that they are capable of. We’ve played a lot of cup games over the campaign, which has made things very stop-start. You plan ahead and set your tactics...and then you don’t play for three weeks, so there has not been a consistent line-up for large parts of the year.’’
Like much of the season, Holloway is also beset with several injury problems, ahead of Sunday’s fixture. Annabel Johnson will sit out the rest of the campaign through injury, whilst Destiny Toussaint, Danni Saulter, Maria Gauntlett and Leanne McKenna will all be out of action for around a month, although Natalie Reay is rated as ’50-50’ and will be assessed before the match. City are boosted by the possible return of Kim Walton, who recently played 45 minutes for the Reserves and new signing Laura McQuilkin, who played under Holloway at Sporting Club Albion.
Such is the tight and competitive nature of the league, the Sky Blues know that a big victory this weekend, with other results going their way, could take them above Manchester City and as high as fifth in the league.
The FA Women’s Premier League fixture takes place at the Bedworth Oval this Sunday, and will kick off at 2pm.