Aston Villa boss Ward declares admiration for Brighton ahead of Sunday’s meeting | OneFootball

Aston Villa head coach Carla Ward says that Sunday’s opponents Brighton & Hove Albion are a club that she holds huge admiration for.

The Seagulls are now into their fourth season in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League while last season saw the club record their highest-ever finish of sixth position.

Aston Villa are into just their second top flight season and they will be looking to emulate Brighton & Hove Albion’s successes in the coming years. Speaking in her pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend’s meeting of the two sides at The People’s Pension Stadium, Ward said that she has so much respect and admiration for what Brighton & Hove Albion have achieved so far.

“I love Brighton, I think they are a fantastic outfit,” Ward said. “They’ve got a good manager in Hope (Powell) who has done exceptionally well over the last few years and they are actually a team that I admire. There are no superstars in that team, they are just talented footballers and a group of individuals that collectively work.

“We know that it is going to be tough but I like playing against Brighton because they play football in the right way. Ultimately, we know it is going to be a tough test.”

Aston Villa created 19 chances on goal in their last outing, a 1-1 draw at West Ham United. Ward went on to say that her side must be more clinical in-front of goal this weekend.

She added “Yeah we need to (be more clinical). We’ve been fantastic in the final third in terms of creating opportunities, I think it was 27 goal attempts in total against West Ham which clearly shows that we dominated the game.

“We’ve got to be better in the final third, be more patient and have better decision-making. When you look at the top players in this league and around the world, it’s one thing and that’s decision-making.

“We know that we’ve got to be better but all of the girls have been fantastic. The energy out there in training today has been brilliant, it gives me a headache, it causes me a problem which is good. We are ready for Sunday.”

The Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture between Brighton & Hove Albion and Aston Villa at The People’s Pension Stadium kicks-off at 2pm on Sunday afternoon.