Birmingham City Ladies boss David Parker is anticipating an emotional evening as his players prepare to make history at St. Andrew’s.
Following a memorable UEFA Women’s Champions League round of 16 first-leg victory in Russia on Saturday, Blues have one foot in the quarter-finals with a 2-0 aggregate lead over FK Zorkiy Krasnogorsk.
Not only will avoiding defeat secure another fresh chapter in Blues’ European adventure, it will be the first time that the ladies side have played on the famous St.Andrew’s turf.
And, according to Parker, that will make for a magical evening under the floodlights.
“The tie adds such an extra significance by playing at St.Andrew’s as a ladies team for the first time in our history,” he said.
“Words cannot describe how much this means to many people at the club, players and staff, and I’m sure there will be a tear or two from some as we walk out the tunnel to the Champions League anthem.
“Progressing to the Champions League Quarter Final would be an unbelievable achievement for the club and would be up there with winning the FA Women’s Cup last season.
“To go up against the best teams in Europe and test ourselves against fully-professional clubs with huge budgets and investments behind them just goes to show how far we have come.
“We don’t have a budget anywhere near our domestic rivals let alone our European counterparts, but what we do have is great people at this club that all pull in the same direction, mixed in with that is of course great quality and everyone squeezing every last ounce they have to be successful on the resources we have.”
However, despite the first-leg lead courtesy of goals from Izzy Christiansen and Jo Potter, Parker isn’t getting complacent and will be quick to remind his players of the club’s UEFA Women’s Champions League bow in 2012.
“This round is almost a carbon copy of the Verona tie last season by the fact we were 2-0 up from the first-leg and it could have been 3-0 right at the death.
“That second-leg was probably the hardest moment in football we have all had to face over our careers, exiting the tournament in extra time, when we deserved to go through.
“But we have learnt a great deal since then and one thing is for certain we don’t want to face those emotions again on Wednesday night.”
SHE KICKS – the online community for women’s football
