Hannah Blake previews Chelsea – Durham Women FC

Durham forward Hannah Blake caught up with us to preview Wednesday’s Subway Women’s League Cup tie  

Hannah, a tough defeat at the weekend. 

‘Yeah, I think obviously our first league game back this year was one we wanted to start off with a win and I think Charlton definitely posed a tough challenge for us. 

‘They sat in quite a tough block to break down and I think we were unlucky with a few things but it has only motivated the group to go ahead, move onto the next, learn from the mistakes and get those three points in the next fixture.’ 

And we continue our Subway Women’s league cup run tomorrow, how are the squad feeling for it? 

‘I think everyone’s pretty excited, obviously Chelsea are going to be a very very tough opposition, but I think these are the kind of games we want to be playing in and testing ourselves against the best. 

‘I think everyone’s really looking forward to the occasion and to learn from what we can put out on the field.’ 

And, like you say, we are up against Chelsea, a top Women’s Super League side, what can we expect from the challenge? 

‘I think, like you say, it’s going to be a massive challenge, they’re going to be class all throughout the field. 

‘I think they’re one of the best teams in the country and in the world, so it’s one of the biggest challenges we’ll probably face all season, but these are the sort of games we want to play in. 

‘All the girls are up for the challenge and we’re going to leave everything out on the pitch and see what we can come away with.’  

And we are the only championship team left in the League-Cup quarter finals, what does that mean to the club? 

‘Obviously being the last championship team is huge for the club, it shows that we are competing and that is exactly what we want to be doing.’ 

And we know that some fans are travelling down for the game tomorrow, do you have a message for them? 

‘I think the fans have been flawless all season and yet again, their support coming down to Chelsea is going to be massive for us. 

‘We’ll need all the support we can get and we’re looking forward to seeing them there’.