Preview: Cardiff City Ladies v Hounslow Women

by Cole Martin

CARDIFF City Ladies will be hoping to make amends for last week’s late heartbreak as struggling Hounslow Women make the journey to South Wales on Sunday. 

City narrowly lost out to Plymouth Argyle Ladies in their previous game after an injury-time winner from the league’s top goalscorer Natasha Knapman.

Despite the setback, Lauren Smith’s side are still only six points off current leaders Watford in the Southern Premier Division, with a game in hand.

A disappointing week swiftly turned into a rousing one for Cardiff, after six of their players earned a call up for Wales’ Euro 2021 qualifying match against Northern Ireland.

Laura O’Sullivan, Claire Skinner, Carrie Jones, Maria Francis-Jones, Nadia Lawrence and Kylie Nolan are all part of the inclusion in Jayne Ludlow’s squad, for a highly anticipated home nation showdown in Belfast next month.

Hounslow, meanwhile, sit second from bottom and have conceded 25 goals in their previous three matches, without a single reply.

The West London-based club were formerly known as Queens Park Rangers Ladies, before manager and owner Martino Chevannes renamed his side Hounslow Women, initiating a new era.

Chevannes’ team are yet to register a win this season, with their only point coming in a 1-1 draw away to MK Dons.

With their opponents possessing such a poor defensive record, Cardiff will see this game as an opportunity to boost their scoring record, in what appears to be a weak point for them so far.

Smith’s Ladies have only registered eight goals so far this season, an inferior figure to teams around them in the standings, with six clubs having scored 20+ goals already.

University of South Wales graduate Chloe Lloyd is currently Cardiff’s top scorer with three goals, after having a positive return from a lengthy spell out through injury.

Kick-off is at 2pm at the CCB Centre for Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach.