Fresh off the back of their surprise thrashing of Chelsea at the weekend, Sunderland Ladies are ready to begin their 2015 FAWSL Continental Cup campaign.
The competition, which begins with three regional-based groups before entering the knockout stages, starts tonight, but the Lady Black Cats' first game isn't until tomorrow - an away trip to Durham.
Sunderland are in group two alongside Durham, Doncaster Belles, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City, so will fancy their chances of progressing via one of the top two places, or at least as a best third placed team, with three WSL 2 sides in their draw.
Fairweather looking forward to 'important' game
Manager Carlton Fairweather is certainly looking at the competition as one he believes his team can be successful in, and therefore, when speaking to the Sunderland Echo, he cited the match with Durham as "an important game," even if it's not "as high profile as Chelsea."
The manager said that, "hopefully," his team "can do well in the competition," and that they are "taking [it] seriously" because he believes "it is a competition [they] can go far in."
To do this though, Fairweather stressed the need for the his players to "stick to the game plan again," just as they did against Chelsea, and "approach the game in the right way" if they want to emerge victorious, with underestimating their opponents, just because they are in the second tier, something that cannot be done.
Squad rotation required
He also believes the competition, of which all games will be played midweek, is "important for the development of the players both as individuals and as a team," with it forcing managers to rotate their squads and use every player if they want to achieve something and be fresh for league matches at the weekend too.
The publication revealed that Fairweather will indeed make changes tomorrow night as a result, with the likes of Emma Kelly, Hayley Sharp, Abbey Joice, Gemma Wilson and Sarah McFadden in line for minutes after being named on the bench against Chelsea on Saturday evening.
Sharp confident of topping table
One of these players set to feature, Sharp, has spoken to the FAWSL website about the upcoming fixture, and tournament, and also views it as an "important" competition as the team "want to do the best [they] can" in every game and they also want to "look to the cup and see it as a positive."
The Sunderland defender acknowledges that there are some big teams in their group, with reigning cup champions Manchester City and reigning league champions Liverpool in there, but she is confident that, "if [the team] stick to [their] game plan," then there is "[no] reason" why they can't "top...the group."
Sharp cited the first fixture as "a nice one to start off" with, as it "will be like a home game" for Sunderland "because it's easily the shortest journey [they] will make this season." As well as this, she stressed that both teams know each other very well having played against each other last season in the Continental Cup and the league, and thus Sunderland "know [Durham's] strengths and weaknesses."
The opponents - Durham
Durham have had a mixed season in WSL 2 this year, but, importantly for them, they managed to recover from a four game losing run, and a six game winless streak, at the weekend with a 3-1 win away at Watford - just in time to face Sunderland.
Their spirits will certainly be lifted by that third victory of the season, and with a winnable game over bottom side London Bees to come on Sunday, they will hope for a positive result against the Black Cats on their own patch tomorrow night too.
Defender Lauren Jordinson is looking forward to the challenge of facing last year's WSL 2 winners, telling the FAWSL website that, whilst "it is going to be a tough test playing against the WSL 1 sides" in their group, "playing against Sunderland is always exciting" as it's "a local derby" and thus "there is always that added desire to win."
Durham find themselves in a difficult group in the competition, but their defender recalls the "good challenge" it presented last season and believes that the team "always step up" when they face "the best players in the country," many of whom boast "international experience."
Jordinson believes that "there's a steep learning curve" in the Continental Cup and Durham will "take the positives away" from every game in the competition, "whatever happens." She thinks that this is what the cup is about for them, as a lot of their opponents this year will have been "role models" for many of their players growing up, so to play against them will be "quite an experience."
Still, Jordinson is confident that Durham will give Sunderland "a good game" as they "know plenty about them from last year." The team will be "up for it" and are excited about the big crowd they are likely to entertain, with Sunderland having attracted four figure attendances since the return from the World Cup.
Previous meetings
Sunderland lost just one game last year on their way to the WSL 2 title, this to runners-up Doncaster Belles, and thus Durham were easily swept aside by the Black Cats as they took the league by storm, winning 15 of their 18 games.
Durham were defeated early on in the year by a 4-2 scoreline at home in April, whilst the return fixture was also won by a two goal margin, with the Black Cats 2-0 winners at home in early September.
Sunderland convincingly overcame Durham in the WSL Cup too, beating them 3-0 as the Wildcats failed to get a single point on the board in the competition - something they will hope to better in 2015. A strike on the stroke of half time by Joice got things going, and Beth Mead, hat-trick hero at the weekend, would double this lead shortly after, before the game was wrapped up by an own goal from Jordinson herself.
Prediction
It is likely to be a tighter game than last year's meetings, with Durham having recruited well in 2015 and strengthened their squad.
They are more than unfortunate enough to find themselves in eighth in WSL 2, with their performances deserving much more than this, and with the Watford win under their belt and London Bees to come, they will be confident as they welcome Sunderland tomorrow.
Still, the Lady Black Cats are in impressive form and come into the game having won both their games since the return from the mid-season break - beating Notts County 2-1 and Chelsea 4-0.
It is perhaps the worst time for Durham to be facing them as a result, but they will be looking to bring Sunderland back down to Earth as they try and use their home advantage to cause an upset tomorrow night.
However, one sees the visitors' being simply too good for them, especially in their current form.
The game will kick off at 7.30pm tomorrow night at New Ferens Park.