International midfielder Sally Shipard is on the lookout for any complacency that may be creeping into the Canberra United ranks ahead of their Week Five Westfield W-League clash with bottom of the table Adelaide United.
International midfielder Sally Shipard is on the lookout for any complacency that may be creeping into the Canberra United ranks ahead of their Week Five Westfield W-League clash with bottom of the table Adelaide United.
“I would like to think that none of the players took to the field with a complacent mindset against Melbourne,” Shipard said. “It bugs me when people take teams lightly and that-s not the way to approach football. Whichever team performs on the day will win. If we notice some complacency kicking in over the next week or so ahead of the Adelaide match then I-m sure some of the older players will have something to say about it.”
The Matildas midfielder was named Westfield Player of the Match in Saturday-s 1-1 draw with Melbourne at McKellar Park but was a little disappointed about the final outcome as United conceded a stoppage time equaliser to Victory-s Maika Ruyter-Hooley.
“As far as results go, the one on the weekend we would have enjoyed winning, but we can-t really complain,” Shipard revealed. “It could be a lot worse as we haven-t lost yet. I really thought we were going to gel on the weekend but we were kind of lacking that cohesion in that we weren-t able to get the passing moving quickly enough. Hopefully we can work on that before the Adelaide game in a fortnight.”
Even with a win and two draws under their belt so far this season United haven-t quite hit the heights that they promised after dismantling Perth Glory 4-1 in the opening round. Shipard however is convinced there is a lot to come from her team.
“There is plenty more to come from this Canberra team and that-s exciting as we do have room for growth. It-s a matter of us just clicking and finding our feet with each other and what-s we are all on the same page we will really perform out there. There is a mass of potential,” she said.
“There have been positives this season such as we have managed to fly all the way over to Perth and win, we have faced Brisbane, who has almost all the national Matildas- team players, and we managed to draw with them and we came away with a point on the weekend, although it felt like a loss! We are still sitting in second on the ladder so it-s been a decent start. It-s the best start in terms of results in the three years we-ve played in the Westfield W-League.”
United sits out week four of the Westfield W-League with the bye leaving them all pent up in preparation for the Adelaide clash at Deakin Stadium on 4th December.
“After having this weekend off we will all be raring to go. We can-t take any team lightly. All the teams within the W-League have their competitive streak, so it will be interesting to see how the results go. Personally I have felt the midfield has done a decent job. Having a quality defence behind you certainly helps. On an individual note I have been relatively happy with what I-ve done and if I could just get my long-range shooting on target then that would benefit my game! There are always things to be working on and I still feel as if I am catching myself up after having a year and a half off. I-m steadily getting into the mindset of what Ray (Junna) wants from me in terms of my play,” Shipard concluded.
Canberra United faces Adelaide United in their next Westfield W-League match at Deakin Stadium on Saturday 4th December with a 5pm kick off. Tickets are available through the Capital Football office or on the gate on matchday priced at $10 adults, $5 concessions with children under-12 admitted free.
