The battle for a spot in the top four is on the line on Sunday and West Canberra Wanderers FC player/coach Emma Stanbury says her side is up for the challenge in the Federation Cup rematch.
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Fresh off a 2-1 win in the Cup semi-final against Gungahlin United FC on Tuesday night, the two sides will face off again in round six of the National Premier League on Sunday.
The Wanderers claimed the win in extra time, with the score locked 1-1 after 90 minutes.
Both sides are facing three games in a week, but Stanbury said her side were ready and at full strength, besides a few blisters.
"We've got a lot of momentum behind us at the moment, which is fantastic. The first few games ... it was a very new looking squad so it was just a process of learning how each other plays and learning how to gel ... and we're starting to get that," Stanbury said.
"With our full strength squad coming in this weekend, I think, it is definitely an opportunity for us to be able to jump up the ladder and I only see us going up from here."
Gungahlin will be looking to seek revenge for being knocked out of the Cup by Wanderers and fighting to retain their spot on the NPL ladder. They sit in fourth with nine points going into the match, with Wanderers in fifth on six points.
IN RAIDERS NEWS
Stanbury is using her W-League experience - with stints at Canberra United and Newcastle Jets - to mold the next generation of players at Wanderers.
One such player is Tiana Jaber, who has five W-League appearances under her belt for the Jets and Western Sydney Wanders, who is taking on more of a leadership role than she has previously.
The 21-year-old defender said the move from the NSW NPL to the Capital Football NPL was driven by a desire to step out of her comfort zone and improve her game, mentally and physically.
"It's a bit of a challenge ... because I feel like I've stepped into more of a leadership role, where in Sydney I wasn't a leader, I was learning off other people, but it's nice here teaching girls things that I know and being more of a leader on the field," she said.
Jaber admitted Gungahlin were an impressive team but said they would need to step up on Sunday if they wanted to take away any points.
"It's been a very big week, it's tough managing the load and with the big game on Tuesday there were a lot of challenges," she said.
"We played amazing, so we have a lot of things that we need to remember for Sunday. So I'm excited, but I think it's definitely going to be another very big, tough game."
Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
