After an eye-catching run of victories - 13-0, 12-0 and 7-0 - Ipswich Town Women host Oxford United, one of their direct rivals in the race to win automatic promotion out of the FAWNL Southern Premier Division and into the FA Women's Championship, at the Martello Ground, Felixstowe this afternoon (KO 2pm).
Town opened their season with a 3-0 win away at Oxford and on Sunday face them knowing another victory could put significant daylight between them and a team who have played two games more, last week’s 7-0 away hammering of Cheltenham having moved the Blues into second ahead of the U’s but still behind leaders Hashtag United.
Yet, speaking to TWTD at Playford Road on Thursday, manager Joe Sheehan didn't believe that another win over Oxford would necessarily put the U’s out of title contention.
"I think it’s probably too early for them to be out of the race if they don’t get a result, obviously we’re not even halfway through the season yet,” he said.
"They’re a solid team, a team that have been competitive at a high level for some time. I'm sure they'll come here off their defeat last week, trying to get back on track.
"We're looking forward to the challenge, we’re hoping that we can put in a similar performance as we did at their place on the opening day. If we can do that and perform well, then we’ve got a really good chance of winning the game.”
Sheehan takes great satisfaction from the fact that Ipswich are yet to concede a goal at home in the league this season.
"I think that runs through the whole squad,” he added. "Obviously, the goalkeepers will think a lot more about their clean sheets than maybe the centre forwards.
"We do take a lot of pride in it - the backline, the goalkeepers, the team as a collective. We’re so mindful of making sure that even if we're 4-0 or 5-0 up, we're so determined not to concede goals. It gives us a good platform to build on and, so far, we’ve been pretty solid.”
Star summer signing Ella Rutherford returned to action at Cheltenham last Sunday, scoring once after coming on as a substitute for the last half an hour. Sheehan is pleased with her progress after minor knee surgery but isn’t sure whether she’s ready to start games.
"I think it’s probably too early to say,” he reflected. "She’s had a really difficult time with injuries and I think she's looking better now than probably she ever has. She’s definitely progressing in the right direction.
"Whether her starts will become sooner rather than later still remains to be seen. We’re really happy how she's progressing. Fortunately, we have a lot of quality and a lot of depth which means we don't have to rush her back too soon.
"I’m sure when the time is right and she's ready - and we feel she is ready - to start games and a get a real good run and carry that momentum forward, she'll be really important for us.”
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Sheehan revealed that striker Issy Fisher, on loan from Arsenal, returned to training on Thursday after her exploits in the Dominican Republic, helping England achieve fourth place in the U17 Women's World Cup.
"This is the first day she’s been in, she wasn’t in at all last week, which was more of a recommendation from Arsenal really, who obviously look after a lot of her loading as her primary club,” he said.
"She’s had some time off having been at the World Cup. That was probably quite demanding, not just physically, but mentally as well with how England’s competition went.
"She’s come back in today looking really sharp and really eager to kick on. She'll be an important player for us moving forwards.”
However, another summer signing, Angela Addison, remains out after missing last weekend’s game.
"She’s got a little bit of a hip flexor issue,” Sheehan added. "We don't think it will be anything too significant or too long term, but yeah, she won't be available this weekend. We'll still hope that we can see her back on the pitch before the end of the year.”
With the club announcing plans earlier this week to redevelop Playford Road training centre incorporating a dedicated space for the women's team, Sheehan and general manager Rachel Harris have been heavily involved in the consultation process.
"We've sat on various meetings to discuss what the plans look like and what things might look like of us, not just in the short-term, but also the long-term to ensure that we are ready for whatever league we might be in, in the future, that we've got a training base that can cater for that,” he continued.
"The plans look really exciting. I know it’s not happening too soon but it gives us something to look forward to. When that is fulfilled and the whole development is finished, it will be a really good place for females to develop in the women's game at this football club.”