Ipswich Town Women are in action away against Bridgwater United at Fairfax Park this afternoon (KO 2pm).

In September the Blues beat the Somerset-based club 1-0 at the AGL Arena in Felixstowe and midfielder Lucy O’Brien is anticipating a similarly tight game this weekend.

“It’s going to be a physical battle, but we’re used to that,” she said. “The games we’ve played recently against Championship team [Lewes in the FA Cup] and a team that were relegated from the Championship [Watford last week] have been very physical, so we’re going to be up for it and we’ll be looking to have a cutting edge to score more goals and get the win.

“It’s going to be a tough game, they’re always up for a challenge and we will be too, but hopefully we can outplay them and have the cutting edge to get the three points.”

Town are third following last week’s 1-1 draw at Watford with Portsmouth having usurped Oxford at the top after the U’s were beaten 2-1 at Cheltenham, while Pompey won 2-1 at Bridgwater.

With the Blues only five points off the top with a game in hand, a win could put the Blues firmly in the title race.

“The results at the weekend showed that it’s all to play for, anything can happen,” O’Brien added. “We’ve got to focus on ourselves, make sure we do as much as we can to get the three points and put ourselves in the best position.”

Photo: Ross Halls

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