Match Preview: Sheffield United v London Bees – By Jake Wilkin
The Bees are on their travels as they take on Sheffield United in the FA Women’s Championship.
Nickname: The Blades
Manager: Carla Ward
Stadium: Proact Stadium – Chesterfield
League Position: 2nd
Form Guide:
Sheffield United Last 5 = W5 D0 L0
London City 1-2 Sheffield United
Sheffield United 1-0 Durham
Durham 0-4 Sheffield United (Conti Cup)
Lewes 1-2 Sheffield United
Sheffield 4-1 Blackburn Rovers (Conti Cup)
London Bees Last 5 = W1 D1 L3
London Bees 1-2 Aston Villa
London Bees 1-1 Charlton
London Bees 0-5 Brighton & Hove Albion (Conti Cup)
Durham 3-1 London Bees
London Bees 0(4)-0(2) Charlton (Conti Cup)
The Opposition:
The Blades come into this fixture on the back of some excellent form that has seen them climb up the table where they are currently sitting in 2nd position.
Ward’s side were in control of the game going into half-time in their most recent fixture against London City, before an equaliser early into the second half levelled the scores back up but Olivia Fergusson secured all three points for her side with fifteen minutes to go in the game.
A win over the Bees on Sunday could see that they reach the top of the table if current occupiers Aston Villa lose to Leicester City on Saturday evening.
The Manager: Carla Ward
Carla Ward enjoyed a successful playing career having made appearances for a number of sides including Bristol Rovers, Sporting Plaza de Argel and Sheffield FC before joining Sheffield United as a player-assistant manager.
Shortly after, she took over as manager in 2018 and oversaw the clubs successful application to join the FA Women’s Championship. She has since brought somewhat of a revolution to The Blades who nowadays are one of the most formidable sides in the FAWC. Ward has just been awarded the manager of the month for November, the second time she has picked up the award this season.
One to Watch: Jade Pennock
Jade Pennock is an experienced forward and midfielder who signed with Sheffield United in the summer of 2018 from Doncaster Rovers Belles. Pennock spent six years abroad in America both studying and playing football where she left with numerous honours.
After joining the Blades last summer, she went on to score 8 goals and picked up a number of awards at the end of season ceremony.
Where to follow the action:
There will be live updates over on the Bees Twitter account – @LondonBees. There will also be exclusive behind the scenes content over on Instagram, where we’ll get all the action ahead of the big game.