Free-scoring Charlton Women’s winger expecting Addicks to park the bus against Arsenal Ladies

By Richard Cawley

richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Charlotte Gurr has admitted that defence will be at the forefront of Charlton Women’s tactics as they head to Arsenal Ladies in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.

The Addicks are top of the FA WPL Southern Division table but face a major test at Boreham Wood’s Meadow Park ground. Their north London opponents are in WSL 1 and full-time.

Gurr, 28, was on Arsenal’s books for three years after being signed at the age of 14. She was part of their squad which won the quadruple in 2007.

The winger has scored 32 goals this season – five of those hat-tricks – but chances are likely to be at a premium for Riteesh Mishra’s side this weekend.

“We know how hard it is going to be,” said Gurr. “We’re going to try and set up as well as we can to make it as hard as we can for them.

“We are going to need to give it 110 per cent the whole game to try and get something. It’s the FA Cup, you never know. We’ve had a good three or four sessions this week.

“I think it will be very much a case of parking the bus. We know what their strengths are going to be, the coaching staff have got a lot of information on them. We need to stop those strengths as much as we can.”

Charlton are the only side outside of the WSL – the top two tiers in the ladies’ domestic game – to still be in the competition.

“That is a massive achievement,” said Gurr, who signed for the South Londoners in the summer. “It will be hard work during the match as much as it will be a great day.

“Whatever happens, we have done really well this season. But we don’t want to go out in the wrong way, get smashed.

“It’s tricky, you want to play big teams but you also don’t want to be on the end of a heavy defeat and for some of your confidence to go.”

Charlton have applied to be part of the new-look Championship next season, which will replace WSL 2 in a restructuring of the leagues.

“With that application going in we don’t have to win the division but the ideal thing is to earn your way up there,” said Gurr. “Hopefully we win the league and our application is successful, that we have met all the criteria.

“It is going to be a bigger challenge and that is going to improve our game, we’ll be training more because we’ll be semi-professional.”

AFC Wimbledon Ladies are 16 points clear at the top of South-East Division 1 after a 2-1 win at Norwich Ladies on Sunday. Their goals came from Caroline Bisson and Georgia Heasman.