SM
Watford vs. Oxford Utd: 4 hrs 17 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Women's FA Cup | Final
May 4, 2019 at 5.30pm UK
 

3-0

Walsh (52'), Stanway (81'), Hemp (88')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Seven-time winner Gilly Flaherty previews Women's FA Cup final

:Headline: Seven-time winner Gilly Flaherty previews Women's FA Cup final: ID:357890: from db_amp
Flaherty has won the FA Cup seven times already but she is desperate to help the Hammers end a fairy tale season with silverware.

Seven-time FA Cup winner Gilly Flaherty admits lifting the trophy with West Ham would trump the lot.

Flaherty, five times a winner with Arsenal and twice with Chelsea, joined a fledgling Hammers team which had only just turned professional last summer.

Manager Matt Beard had to hastily assemble together an entire squad, and the sum total of their ambition was to survive in their first season in the Women's Super League.

Yet somehow West Ham are not only comfortably mid-table, they also reached a first-ever Women's FA Cup final.

They will be huge underdogs when they take on mighty Manchester City on Saturday evening at Wembley in front of what will be a record crowd of around 50,000.

Despite her vast experience defender Flaherty, 27, will be captaining a side at Wembley for the first time – and she is dreaming of lifting the trophy.

"It would be the pinnacle of my career," she said.

"I have been fortunate enough to be a part of a few successful teams but to come here, there was some eyebrows raised when I left Chelsea to come to a club that was brand new, but I trusted Matt and his vision for the club.

"Us getting to the final in our first year proves it was the right decision."

City are unbeaten domestically this season and thrashed West Ham 7-1 earlier in the campaign, but Beard feels they will be the ones under pressure.

"We're delighted to be there and we're looking forward to the occasion," he said.

"Obviously it's a big game and a game we want to win. It's a big occasion but we've got a job to do.

"I said at the semi-final stage to get there would probably be like a fairy tale with everything we've been through, as a group, having six weeks to build a team and build this club.

"I think it puts more pressure on them. Someone sent me the odds and Manchester City were 5-1 on, and we're 11-1. But it's the cup final!

"If we can pull it off on Saturday it would be an unbelievable achievement."

amp_article__357890 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2019-05-01 15:17:08:
html db last update - 2019-05-01 15:17:08 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Gilly Flaherty

Click here for more stories about West Ham United

Share this article now:
Read more about Gilly Flaherty Football
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .