We spoke with Whitley Bay’s Lucy Watson after her team put aside mixed North East League form to win 3-2 away at FAWPL outfit Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup and set up a cracking tie with Stoke City.
SK: Did the timing of your goals help, early in each half and before the break?
LW: Yeah, I think they did. An early goal helps to give us a platform to work off and the goal before the break allowed us to go into half time more confident, having restored our lead. The third goal allowed us to calm the game down.
SK: What was the assessment of your chances at the interval?
LW: We were really happy with our performance and effort levels from the first half and believed if we were to continue to play that way in the second half, our chances of progressing would be good. However, we knew that it wasn’t over and didn’t underestimate Tranmere.
SK: Where you in danger of losing the lead with Tranmere’s late second goal?
LW: To be honest, I don’t think so. Although their goal was late and therefore increased pressure on us, I think we coped with the pressure well and held onto the ball to stop them attacking.
SK: Will your cup run help boost a mixed league campaign to date?
LW: Definitely, I think that when you win especially as underdogs it allows you to develop confidence which will obviously carry on into the league games .Hopefully we can now start to pick up more points.
SK: How much of a test do you feel Stoke City will be for you?
LW: The Stoke game will be hugely important, as we know how much of a good team they are. However, we just need to believe in ourselves, as we have done against Tranmere and there’s no reason why we should lose, particularly if we put in the effort we did in the first round proper.
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