InterviewGemma Bonner's semi-final preview: 'It'd be incredible to give our fans a Wembley trip'
Gemma Bonner wants to reward Liverpool FC Women supporters with a trip to Wembley by overcoming Chelsea in the Adobe Women's FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday lunchtime.
After seeing off the challenge of Arsenal in the quarter-finals, the Reds must travel to Kingsmeadow to face Sonia Bompastor's side, who themselves are eyeing a quadruple this season.
As players and staff made their way into the AXA Melwood Training Centre on Friday morning, they were greeted with a special banner made by the fans that read: We believe.
Ahead of the much-anticipated clash in the capital, Liverpoolfc.com spoke to Bonner about the squad's determination to reach the showpiece and what they need to do to get past the Blues.
Read on for what the defender had to say…
On the semi-final…
It's really exciting for us. As a group we have been striving to get to the final of this competition and we have a really big chance of that. I think there is a lot of hard work that has gone on to get to this point and we have prepared well. So, we will be in a good position come Saturday.
On facing Chelsea…
It's firstly a cup game. Obviously Chelsea are in fantastic form and, for sure, everyone is expecting them to beat us and get to the final. But I think we've shown previously that we can't just compete with the top teams but we are capable of beating them as well. We have got a lot of positives to take and it's about trying to put all that together in our performance and have the belief that we can go and get a result.
We've shown we've got the quality within the group. Of course they are probably going to have more chances and more of the ball, but I think as a team we are strong collectively and that's one of our strengths. If we can be hard to beat then we know we have players who can go and hurt the opposition. So, it's about trying to find that balance and not giving away too many chances but also finishing the chances ourselves.
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Watch on YouTubeOn the need for a strong defensive display against Chelsea…
The nature of the players and the squad that Chelsea have got, they have got players who can hurt you all over the pitch, so it's not necessarily just the back line and it's collectively as a unit. We need to limit them on their chances and the quality of chances they create. They have got players who can create those big moments but, likewise, so do we. We have shown we are strong in a lot of areas and it's about trying to get our front players to hurt the opposition.
On beating Chelsea on a few occasions in recent seasons and her goal against them last campaign…
Set-plays can play a huge part and when we've got the quality of delivery from the likes of Marie Höbinger, it's something we can utilise. Games can be decided on set-pieces and we have been strong from them, so hopefully it's something we can exploit.
On the importance of the travelling Liverpool support…
It would be incredible to give them a trip to Wembley. We know how important the fans are at this club and although we are not playing at home, we know we are going to have a huge following down in London. Every time you step out on the pitch, you hear them supporting us and we really feel their support behind us. Driving in to Melwood on Friday morning, we all saw the banner that the fans had put by the entrance – 'We believe'. They believe in us and we need to take that into the game, and hopefully we can give them something to cheer about.