Lincoln City Women travel to Notts County two weeks after their late defeat to Peterborough United at stage LNER Stadium.
City were 2-1 up at half-time versus Posh, thanks to goals from Maddi Green and Leah Hardy, however a brace from Emily Brett and a late own goal resulted in a 3-2 loss.
Sunday’s game could be huge for the Imps, as a win there will almost certainly mean they will remain in the division for next season. It will take place at the historic Meadow Lane.
Opposition: Notts County
Notts County are in a very similar position to Lincoln City. They sit just two places and three points behind City and have also won the exact same number of games as the Imps, with both accumulating four victories.
County’s most recent game was against table-toppers Loughborough Lightning, which resulted in a huge 6-1 defeat. The Imps face Loughborough in their final game of the season, in early May.
Team News:
Imps manager Lee Mitchell says he’s looking forward to showcasing the level of the women’s game at Meadow Lane.
He said: ‘‘Anytime we can showcase what we’re about for any team it’s exciting to play in the stadium so yeah, we’re looking forward to it.’’
Despite the exciting occasion, Mitchell remains focussed on his side returning to winning ways, having gone winless in their last four games.
‘‘Whenever you go to a stadium you’ve got to manage the occasion and manage the crowd but that’s something but I think we’ve got a lot of experience there,” he added.
City beat Notts County comfortably at the LNER Stadium early in the campaign.
‘‘We need to put in the performance worthy of being there and we did that at the LNER. I know weren’t on the right side of the result but I think we did everything but win the game,’’ Mitchell added.
City’s Katie Williams says she feels ‘‘privileged’’ to be frequently playing in stadiums.
She said: ‘‘It’s fantastic really because it’s becoming a little more frequent just getting these opportunities to play in really great stadiums. I just feel privileged really and it’s really exciting to be honest.’’
Reflecting on the comeback defeat to Peterborough, Williams said: ‘‘It was definitely a good performance. I feel like that game was quite a pressurised game, Posh are competing at the top of the table, we’re at home, the week before that we got beat by quite a lot so yeah that was stressful but good.’’
Head-to-Head:
City have played Notts County just once in recent years. That game ended in a massive 6-2 victory at Lincoln’s LNER Stadium.
A brace from striker Toni McHamilton, along with goals from Green, Hardy, Thompson-Moulding and Quaintance ensured the hosts won comfortably on that occasion.