Big test for WaiBOP this weekend against Canterbury

The 2016 National Women's League is at the business end and there is no game more important than Sunday afternoon's match between Loaded WaiBOP and Canterbury United Pride.

The right result for either side will all but seal a playoff spot, so the stakes are high.

For Loaded WaiBOP Football, the visit of Canterbury is both a great test and an exciting challenge.

"We recognise we will be playing against a team that has been very successful over the last three or four seasons," said head coach Barry Gardiner.

"That in itself will be a challenge, but these are the types of games that we want to be involved in. As a group we believe we have the right quality and mentality within our squad to pick up points from these games.

"For us, each week is about how we prepare, how we perform and how we deal with challenges within the game. If we get all that right then we'll put ourselves in a good position to get a result."

Gardiner has been pleased with how the squad has improved over the course of the summer.

"We're where we want to be. We're in the playoff race during the closing stages of the season and we're still improving every week," he said.

"My feeling is there's still more to come from this group. We have had long stages in our matches where we were in control but there are still moments in every game that you are not in control, so it's important to know how to deal with these moments.

"We have been working on this and our defensive organisation during the week leading up to this game. If we can combine this with our attacking threats then we will be in a good place."

Last summer's match between these two sides was a classic. Played at Porritt Stadium, Hamilton, the visitors ran out 6-5 winners thanks to a couple of late strikes from Monique Barker. We trailed 3-2 at half time, then turned it around in the second half before the late sting in the tail.

Loaded WaiBOP Football v Canterbury United Pride
National Women's League - Round 6
1pm | Sunday, November 20, 2016
John Kerkhof Park, Cambridge