Club news

Whelan Ready To Face The Best

By James Hilsum • 01 February 2018

Brighton & Hove Albion defender Fern Whelan cannot wait to test herself against the very best once again when the side take on Manchester City in the SSE Women’s FA Cup on Sunday, kick-off 2pm.
 
Albion face a stern test against the current cup holders and FA WSL 1 league leaders, but Whelan says the players should relish the challenge and aim to produce a similar performance to the one against Chelsea earlier this season.
 
She said, “We’re all really excited and looking forward to it.
 
“All the girls are excited to see how we can challenge ourselves. We gave a really good account of ourselves against Chelsea, and even though we didn’t win, our performance was really good. Hopefully we can do the same again on Sunday.
 
“These are the teams that you want to play against. I’m more used to it after my time with Everton and Notts County, but it’s good to come up against them this season to see my levels as a player and how the quality of our team compares as well.”
 
Whelan will see some familiar faces when City come to Culver Road, but stressed that friendship goes out of the window for 90 minutes, and highlighted the key strengths of Nick Cushing’s star-studded squad.
 
“In terms of current form and players in form, you look at Nikita Parris, who’s flying at the moment and she’s linking up very well with Izzy Christiansen. They are two very dangerous players, and they’ve got a lot of new signings too.
 
“You can’t really say what team they’re going to put out, but we treat every player on the Man City team as brilliant players, and we have to make sure every one of us is on our game.
 
“I’ve got a lot of good friends at Man City in terms of players I’ve played with before, like Nikita and Jill Scott.
 
“It will be nice to see them after the game, as I try to keep myself focused until that point. We’ve got a job to do ourselves. They’ve got a long journey down, so hopefully that stands us in good stead for us to be in tip-top shape for when they arrive. Friendliness goes out the window.”
 
Read the full interview with Fern in Sunday’s matchday magazine, priced at £2 at Culver Road.
 
Advanced tickets for this game can be purchased, one per FAN number, at seagullstickets.com and are available until 2pm on Thursday 1st February. After this deadline, purchasing on the day at an extra cost will be the only way supporters can obtain a ticket.

Season-ticket holders for FA WSL 2 fixtures at Culver Road are reminded that cup fixtures are not included as part of their season-ticket package.