‘It’s going to be an intense environment’ – Manchester United boss Skinner previews Lewes | OneFootball

Manchester United will be hoping to take another step towards Wembley when they face Lewes at The Dripping Pan on Sunday afternoon in the quarter-finals of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup.

After a frustrating 1-0 defeat to Barclays Women’s Super League title rivals Chelsea last weekend, the focus has switched quickly towards domestic cup action for Marc Skinner and his Manchester United side.

When speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of the Lewes fixture, Skinner said that there’s no time to mull over the last game.

“The reality is that games come thick and fast, so you have to move forward,” Skinner said. “We have an opportunity now to progress to a semi-final and we don’t take that for granted.”

Latest opponents Lewes sit in seventh position in the Barclays Women’s Championship table. After beating Cardiff City LFC 6-1 in the previous round of this season’s Vitality Women’s FA Cup, the hunger is there for the Sussex club as the lowest-ranked side left in the competition and they will want to create more cup magic under head coach Scott Booth.

“We don’t see anyone as a potential banana skin and we prepare fully for the game,” Skinner said when discussing his side’s approach to the tie. “We’ve looked at how they play and how we can play against them and expose them.

“Anyone on their day can get fortune and have some good play and get lucky moments, but what we have to do is create enough momentum in the game and enough positions for us to score. If we do that, it’s part of playing against any opponent if we lose or not.”

The tie is a complete sell-out with fans of both Lewes and Manchester United rushing to snap up their tickets. Skinner is expecting a really intense atmosphere at The Dripping Pan.

He said “I can see what Lewes are building there and I can see the infrastructure. It’s going to be an intense environment; 3,000 capacity at The Dripping Pan, so it’ll be really good for us to experience that.”

Despite the frustrating result against Chelsea last Sunday, Skinner knows that his players will bounce back even hungrier to get a victory against Lewes, as they know that they can take another step towards winning silverware this season.

He added “The great thing about my team is that I don’t have to do much preparation, they’re already hungry and we have players ready to pounce at any opportunity they get.”

Manchester United’s Vitality Women’s FA Cup quarter-final tie at Lewes kicks-off at 12.30pm on Sunday afternoon.