Durham confident for London Bees clash, but not complacent, says Hepple

Durham's Beth Hepple insists her side will not be foolish enough to expect an easy encounter away to London Bees tomorrow, despite having beaten them twice already this term.
Beth HeppleBeth Hepple
Beth Hepple

The Wildcats sit just one point off the top of the FA Women’s Super League 2 standings having won four of their opening five matches.

That run included a 2-0 win over the Bees at New Ferens Park, with Jordan Atkinson and Hepple herself on the scoresheet, having already beaten the north Londoners away in the SSE Women’s FA Cup.

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But the Bees have come into some form themselves, thrashing Watford 5-0 away at Vicarage Road last time out, and Hepple knows they cannot be underestimated.

“We’re confident of course against the Bees having played them twice already, but we respect them as well,” said the midfielder, who has already bagged herself eight goals this term.

“They are a good team and have had some really positive results of late – beating Millwall a couple of weeks ago was really good for them before beating Watford twice.

“So they’ll be confident too, and we need to approach the game in the right way and take three points into the break.

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“You want to go away into the next month feeling happy and confident, rather than thinking you need to be catching up, so it’s very important to get these points on the board.

“They are a totally different side to what they were last season. We didn’t really know much about them then, but now we know they can keep the ball well, move well, and they’ve got some experienced players so they are dangerous all over the field.

“We’ve got to be switched on for the full 90 minutes and make sure we threaten their defence.”

Meanwhile Paula Howells believes the sky’s the limit under the stewardship of Dave Edmondson, after two wins from their last three league games has seen the Bees surge up the FA WSL 2 standings.

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And with their new brand of confident and fearless football, Howells is tipping her side to force an upset on home soil.

She said: “We played Durham away in the second game of the season and it was a tough game. We weren’t used to the pitch they play on and they were a strong side.

“We didn’t really have the players that we have got now and we hadn’t had long to train together and with Dave.

“But I think each game we are progressing and if we can do that then we can do anything really.

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“I definitely think that we can get a win against them and everyone is really confident. We feel a lot stronger now and everyone is more confident and willing to take risks.

“We’re all enjoying it together and we are a proper team.”

Tomorrow’s match kicks off at noon.

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