Londoners will prove too strong for City, says Kirk
FORMER Hibs Ladies head coach Willie Kirk reckons Glasgow City will struggle to progress beyond the last 32 after being paired with English league leaders Chelsea in yesterday’s Women’s Champions League draw.
“It’s very unfortunate,” said Kirk, who is now in charge of FA Women’s Super League side Bristol Academy. “Chelsea are a top, top team.
“In my opinion Manchester City are the only side better than them in England. They could easily go to the semi-finals of the Champions League, or even the final given favourable draws.”
City, who are the seeded side because of their impressive recent European record, will host the second leg of the tie at the Excelsior Stadium on 14 October, with the first leg a week earlier.
Although they are making their first appearance in the competition, Chelsea enjoy all the benefits of being part of the men’s club, including shared sponsorships. They paid Reading an estimated £80,000 for 22-year-old England striker Fran Kirby last month, while mainstays of the side include Swedish international goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl, vastly experienced England midfielder Katie Chapman and South Korean attacking midfielder Ji So-yun.
Another star is Eniola Aluko, sister of ex- Aberdeen and Rangers player Sone. The 28-year-old has put her career as a sport and showbusiness lawyer on hold as women’s football in England is becoming so lucrative.
The clubs met in a pre-season friendly in February, which Chelsea won 2-0 at the Excelsior. The London side won the FA Cup at the start of the month, beating Notts County 1-0 at Wembley in front of 30,000 fans but, although they head the league with four matches remaining, could still be overtaken by Sunderland, Arsenal or Manchester City, the latter having a game in hand.
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said: “We’re fairly happy with the draw. The fact that it’s a derby between an English and a Scottish club will be exciting for the supporters.
“City have a good pedigree in this competition and have survived the latter stages a number of times, so we’re certainly not going to underestimate them. Having been there pre-season we know their stadium and a fair bit about their squad. Hopefully that will help us in the tie.”
Although Chelsea play their home matches at Staines, they would have the option of moving to another ground for the Euro tie.