Derby take on Cheshire in crucial group decider

The FA NFS Women’s Super Series returns for Derby today as we take on Chesire Futsal Club, in a high stakes tie to top Group C.

Following the 7-2 win against London Genesis two weeks ago, the Derby side will be looking to provide a formidable opposition against a team who will be making their first appearance in the competition. Following two positive COVID cases for Genesis, Cheshire won last week’s game by default, putting them in second on level points.

Derby’s performance against Genesis two matchday’s ago was a confident showing from a team filled with new signings, Audrey Huskisson-Moore even providing two of the goals on her debut, and Nicola Emery’s hat trick made her a standout on the day.

Matt Hardy, the team’s manager, was delighted about the win and what it meant going into today: “The win against Genesis was great for us. It eased some tensions, it builds some confidence and above everything else, it bought the group closer together. We’ve worked really hard in the two weeks since and we’re so determined to build on it with another positive display against Cheshire.”

This will be only the second match for the side in just over a year, and with the long await for games, the delight at securing the return with a positive win was spread throughout the squad. It just fed the hunger to play again and build on a positive opening day.

Kate Wright, the women’s side’s captain, is hopeful about the push it will give to the side.

“To win our first game together was a massive achievement for us and we’re hoping it will give us some good momentum going into this weekend’s game.

“We’ve done a lot of great work in training the last couple of weeks and the girls are all raring to go and making the most of our time on the court.”

In the smaller group of three, it’s a big opportunity for one side to qualify to the next section of the tournament, and Wright noted how the squad view the prospect of advancing: “It would be a great win for us not only as a team, but as a club to make it to the next round of the summer series.

“We’re taking each game as it comes though and putting all focus on the difficult game vs Cheshire.

“If we come out on top it would be a huge bonus for us and would prove how much we’ve improved as a team over the last 15 months.”

Hardy was also excited by the idea of knockout qualification, but noted how strong the Cheshire side could be as opponents. He has been quick to stress to his players how tough their 40 minutes will be on court.

“Obviously, we’re going in to the game to win, we’re building well and improving all the time, but we also know this will be another really tough game against one of the best sides in the country in recent seasons.

“We want to reach the semi-finals but we’re under no illusions of how tough the game will be and how hard we’ll have to work to get that.

“We’re taking one game at a time at the moment as we continue to build and grow as a team, but I am really excited about this group and their potential. We’re ready for the challenge.”

Derby face off against Cheshire at 2:00pm today, and the match can be caught on the FA National Futsal Series YouTube channel live, or followed on the official NFS Twitter account.