Ladies embarking on UEFA Cup challenge

Oct 11 2007 Liverpool Daily Post

PHASE two of the Women’s UEFA Cup starts tonight when Everton Ladies take on KFC Rapide Wezemaal in Belgium.

Everton have been drawn in a group with Valur Reykjavík, former UEFA Cup winners Frankfurt, and their Belgian hosts – and this round of the competition won’t be as easy as the last, when Everton ran out easy group winners, scoring 20 goals without conceding.

Mo Marley’s team’s preparations have been far from ideal, with the World Cup taking up five weeks of the start of the season and the side only managing a 1-1 draw with Birmingham on Sunday.

It’s something she wants her team to get over quickly, and it starts now in Europe.

“It’s a different challenge,” said Marley.

“We’re not firing on all cylinders at the moment. We’ve had a few players in China for the World Cup. That transition from international football into Premiership football, it’s different and difficult.

“So we’re coming to terms with that. And bar one player, everyone is fit. The UEFA Cup is a different thing, and it’s a nice position to be in. It takes away the pressures and expectations we have in this country.

“We’re unknown in Europe; no-one expects us to get anything. In the last couple of games we’ve played like underdogs at times, and it seems to have brought the best out of us. So maybe it’s good we’re unknown in Europe.”

She added: “If we want to play in the UEFA Cup, we’re going to be playing big teams. If we want to win the cup, we’ve got to beat the big teams. It’s a massive experience for us.

“We have a number of players who are on the fringe of the national team. It’s a chance for them to go out to Belgium and prove that they can play against some of the top players in the Europe.”

And one of those players is central defender Lindsay Johnson.

She was one of the Everton players who did get to play in the World Cup last month, as she came off the bench against Japan in the opening game.

“The teams are getting tougher, but we know that,” said Johnson. “But hopefully we will pick ourselves up to play these teams. Playing in Europe is where we want to be as a club.

“Everton want to be playing against the best teams in Europe, and we’ve got there and this is our chance to show we’re a big club and going places. So playing against these teams is what we want. We’ve just got to go out there, do our job and get results so we can qualify for the quarter-finals.”

Everton’s first match is against Rapide tonight (7.15pm), then they play Frankfurt on Saturday (4.30pm) and finish against Icelandic team Valur on Tuesday (6.30pm).