Following our dispiriting defeat to Real Madrid in the away leg of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, Steph Catley is ready to turn our fortunes around.
Speaking after the game, our defender gave her assessment of the match and what the home advantage will bring us next week at Emirates Stadium.
Here is everything she had to say:
on tonight’s battle…
Yeah, it was definitely a battle. I think the state of the pitch for both teams was really, really difficult. So, in the first half, we were just sort of figuring it out and there were a couple of bad bounces in there and some tough times, but we were right in it. And the second half was obviously disappointing. We've made things quite difficult for ourselves, but we feel confident going back to the Emirates. We love playing there. You know, we score two goals, it's back on an even playing field. So that was the focus point when we finished the game. That's what we're thinking of now.
on fuel for the return leg…
Yeah, definitely. A few of us were speaking straightaway after the game about how it felt like it was set up right. It was a great finish at the end of the day, but there's obviously things in the lead up to that, that we can do a lot better. And I think there are things that came from that goal that started a lot earlier that we can talk about, that we can just make better. I think that's the thing. We've got another chance to turn it around and there's lots that we can work on and lots that we can bring to the next game. So, yeah, we're looking to do that.
on what the home advantage will bring us next week…
Yeah, it's absolutely huge. And I think with our home fans, on a pitch like the Emirates, a place that we absolutely love to play at - anything's possible. This is the Champions League and we're going to show up. So I hope our fans are there to help us through it as well, because it's going to be massive. It's going to be a tough challenge, but we're up for it. I already can't wait to play, to be honest. I wish it was tomorrow.
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