FOOTBALL: PROMISING teenager Jessica Carter believes Birmingham City Ladies can cause an upset in the Women’s FA Cup semi final on Monday when they face Chelsea at Damson Park (kick-off 2.05pm).
The winner of Monday’s game will face either Manchester City or Liverpool in the final at Wembley, and Carter hopes an appearance at the national stadium can take her playing career to the next level.
The 19-year-old, who has represented England at Under 19 and Under 20 level, started her playing career at Warwick Juniors before joining Birmingham City Ladies in 2013.
She has since made 33 appearances for the club and even scored within seven minutes of her England Under 19s debut against Norway.
However the versatile defender now faces one of the toughest games of her life with a trip to Wembley on the line.
Speaking to The Observer, Carter said Monday’s FA Cup Semi Final clash against Chelsea could be one of the biggest games of her playing career to date.
She said: “It’s a big chance to get to Wembley and to knock out a team like Chelsea in the FA Cup semi final would be massive.
“Chelsea will make the game tough for us as they are a very strong team. However we’re not worried about that.
“They are a team we can beat and having support from the home fans will be massive. The home draw is so important.
“When it gets to the final few moments of the game the home fans will play a big part if the score is close, they’ll give us that extra push.”
Birmingham City Ladies welcomed new manager Marc Skinner to the club in December to replace the outgoing David Parker.
And Carter said the former Coventry City Academy coach has injected confidence into the Blues Ladies’ dressing room.
“We’ve been playing a similar formation under Marc and he has gave the girls plenty of enthusiasm. We’ve had great managers before but Marc is infectious.
“He tells us we can be as good as we want to be, and having a manager like that means we’re more likely to get the results. Confidence is contagious.”
A derby win against West Brom was followed by a hard fought quarter-final victory against defending champions Arsenal.
Birmingham took their chances and defended well to beat the Gunners 1-0 and book their place in the final four.
And Carter said Birmingham’s determination in defence could prove decisive again on Monday.
She added: “We worked hard for a clean sheet in that game and took our chances.
“Winning silverware would be massive for the club. It will show the fans they can believe in us and we are going out there to win things and compete with the top teams.
“My main focus right now is Birmingham. It’s my club and I want to play well for them.”
Carter was speaking at the FA’s ‘Make Dreams Goals’ launch.
The initiative aims to encourage young football fans to share their footballing dreams, before turning a chosen few into reality.
Entrants have until Monday (April 17) to submit their dreams. Post boxes present at Monday’s semi-final.
