Simpkins wary of a potential cup upset

Emily Simpkins says Albion will have to cope with being favourites in tonight’s Women’s FA Cup fifth round tie against Crystal Palace.

James Hilsum

2020-02-25T06:00:00Z

Emily Simpkins speaks to the media ahead of Tuesday's game.

The Albion midfielder is wary of becoming another potential FAWSL scalp after Leicester City’s shock 2-1 win over Reading, and is guarding against complacency.

She said, “We’ve found that the pressure has been turned back round to us in the cups, but we pulled through with a good result at Villa.

“But by the same token, we’ll take nothing for granted as Leicester beat Reading, which was a Championship side going through at the expense of a Super League side.

“We’ll prepare for it like we would in any other game, and fingers crossed we’ll put in the right performance on Tuesday night.”

Simpkins reflected on a tight turnaround in fixtures with Tuesday’s cup tie coming just two days after the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

“It is a quick turnaround playing both Sunday and Tuesday, but I feel there is enough depth in our squad to cope.

“It’s then a shame that we won’t be playing again for a while, because our recent performances have generally been quite good and we want to continue that momentum. But on the flip side, it’s a good opportunity for some players to recover.”

Emily Simpkins in training action.

A win for Hope Powell’s side tonight would set up a sixth round tie against Birmingham City, and the midfielder is eager to create some memories in the competition.

“It’s a good draw for us, but we can’t look too far ahead and take it one game at a time.

“We know we’re at home to Birmingham in the next round, but we’ve got a tough game tonight against Palace first.

“We have to win that game and then take it from there.”