Birmingham boss Carter eyes Women’s FA Cup upset as Chelsea bid to move closer to a fourth contest win
DARREN CARTER has no fears about Birmingham juggling a battle for FA Cup glory with their fight for WSL survival.
And the interim boss believes a shock defeat of Chelsea today could give his side a boost during a “difficult season”.
Birmingham, bottom of the women’s top-flight, head to Kingsmeadow for their quarter-final duel with the London giants.
And despite their league struggles they have a decent scoring record against some of the WSL’s top sides.
While their last encounter with Emma Hayes’s title-holders ended in a 5-0 loss last November, Birmingham are the only club to bag four goals against Arsenal in the top-flight this term
Carter said: “We need to draw on those experiences and use them as positives.
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“They show we can go up against the top teams and cause them problems.
“We have to draw on the fact we scored four goals against Arsenal and two against Manchester City.
“These are positive reinforcement for the players. You want to get into any semi-final, especially the FA Cup.
“It’s special and getting closer to the final is only going to breed confidence.”
Birmingham have had Cup success in the past, including clinching the 2012 trophy by beating Chelsea (3-2) on penalties.
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Carter added: “History is history, and these are different teams in different times.
“This Chelsea side are at their peak at the moment, but we’ll back ourselves.
“I’ve said to the players that we don’t go into any game fearing the opposition.”
Carter, who enjoyed a 20-year playing career including four seasons at Birmingham, which included a loan stint at Sunderland is no stranger to playing in shock FA Cup upsets.
As a central midfielder he was on the scoresheet for Forest Green Rovers during their first-round knockout of AFC Wimbledon back in 2015.
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He added: “I personally loved the FA Cup as a player. It always had that special little edge to it, knowing that you can go quite far.
“I’ve been on teams who have been expected to go deeper into competitions and in teams who have caused a couple of upsets, so I’ve seen it from both scenarios.”
Chelsea will try to move one step closer to winning the trophy for the fourth time.
But Government sanctions on owner Roman Abramovich means they are unable to sell tickets to Chelsea fans.
Team boss Emma Hayes said: “We’d love to have fans involved.
“This is something I hope the Government can sort through as I don’t think they need to penalise the fans. Let’s hope they sort it out quickly.”