We won’t Derr lose focus: Burrows

Kelsie Burrows says that, while Cliftonville Ladies were buoyed by the manner of last week’s stirring victory over Linfield Women, they are well aware that an ever-improving Derry City Women side will present a formidable challenge this evening.

A few days on from losing to Glentoran Women in the County Antrim Cup Final, the Reds found themselves 2-1 down to the Blues on Sports Direct Premiership duty only to roar back for a 5-2 victory that saw substitutes Naomi McLaughlin (2) and Toni Leigh Finnegan on the scoresheet alongside a sensational strike from Abbie Magee.

The victory kept John McGrady’s side firmly in the title hunt and, while they trail the Glens by three points at the top of the table, tonight’s Brandywell encounter represents the first of two games in hand, but skipper Burrows is taking nothing for granted against an opponent that has impressively shaken off pre-season relegation predictions thanks in no small part to recent wins over Mid Ulster Ladies and Crusaders Strikers.

“Derry have improved massively as a team from recent years so they should be high in confidence,” she says.

“However, last week we really showed the quality and depth of our squad to be able to come back from being 2-1 down to win 5-2 in the end, comfortably.

“For us as a team to come back and perform as well as we did after a defeat in the Cup Final showed a lot of character and the depth we have from the substitutions that were made won us the game, so it was a very big squad performance from everyone.”

This evening’s match is the first of three Premiership outings that Cliftonville will experience before the Glens return to League action later this month and, with little margin for error, Burrows has rallied her team-mates to ensure they maintain their 100% record, adding: “Every game is as important as the next one because we know as a team, if we slip up or don’t perform that it can have a massive effect on the League and makes it more difficult for us to win it.”