Millwall Lionesses v Durham preview: Hosts look to extend lengthy unbeaten record

The FA Women’s Super League resumes this weekend and second plays third at St Paul’s Sports Ground when Millwall host Durham in FA WSL 2 on Sunday(midday, St Paul’s Sports Ground).

Millwall are still yet to lose in the league this season while Durham have only lost once as they both bid to keep pace with league leaders Doncaster Rovers Belles.

PREVIOUS FORM

Hosts Millwall have already won twice in January, downing Sheffield FC 2-1 before super-sub Charlie Devlin’s second-half double helped them to a 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

The Wildcats have only played once since the Christmas break but secured a fine 4-2 win over Oxford United.

Zoe Ness bagged a double in that game as Durham stopped a winless run that stretched back to October in all competitions.

PAST MEETINGS

This will be the first meeting of the two sides this season, the reverse fixture comes at the end of April at New Ferens Park.

So, the last time these two sides met was the opening clash of the FA WSL Spring Series back in 2017. Durham won 1-0 at home that day thanks to Sarah McFadden’s first-half strike.

Durham also did the double over the Lions in the 2016 FA WSL season meaning that Millwall have not beaten the Wildcats since April 2015 – Lily Agg the two-goal hero in a fine second-half fightback.

ONE TO WATCH – Charlie Devlin (Millwall)

Charlie Devlin impressed on loan at Millwall from Arsenal during last year’s Spring Series. But this year – after inking permanent terms – it has been a slightly slower start for the promising young striker.

However, she climbed off the bench to bag a double last time as the Lions proved too strong for their London rivals Spurs.

Durham will need to watch out for the 19-year-old whose quick feet have fooled even the most experienced of FA WSL 2 defences already in her young career.

WHAT THEY SAID

Durham winger Beth Hepple:

“We’ve had a little bit of a break, but Millwall away is going to be another tough game for us.

“Every game we play until the end of the season is going to be a tough one, but it’s always especially so when we play Millwall. We’ll be up for a battle.

“The performance we put in against Oxford will really boost our confidence – we came up against a quality side who have improved, much like Millwall.

“We were really, really happy to score four goals away from home, when it could have been even more, and it’s got to be more of the same from us.

“We’ve got to work hard and we’ve had a few friendlies to fill in the gap between the league games, so we’ll be ready.

“The win against Oxford will mean nothing if we don’t work hard and perform on the day against Millwall.”

Millwall forward Ashlee Hincks:

“Durham’s always a really, really tough game and they’re a very good team. We haven’t yet taken any points off of them, even though we feel as if we should have, so for us it’s another milestone that we want to tick off.

“We want to go and get points off them, whether it’s one or three, and just not get beaten.

“I think we’ve still got a lot more to give, and we’ve still got a long way to go to what we can play.

“We saw some of this in the game against Spurs and our midfield did extremely well. Bonnie Horwood was fantastic in that game at setting the tempo, so we need more of that, and I reckon we’ll be just fine.”

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