De Graaf Sees Cup Win As Turning Point

- LCFC Women host Everton in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League on Sunday (2pm GMT kick-off)
- Esmee De Graaf previewed the game, saying that City will take confidence from beating Durham in midweek
- The defender believes the Foxes are well-equipped to get off the mark in the league this weekend
- Tickets for the clash at Pirelli Stadium in Burton remain on sale, HERE

Everton lie in wait at Pirelli Stadium on Sunday as the league campaign resumes just four days after the Foxes travelled to Durham and recorded a 2-1 success courtesy of goals from Shannon O’Brien and Molly Pike.

Speaking to the media ahead of facing the Toffees in Burton, De Graaf - a member of the starting XI at Maiden Castle Sports Park - felt it was a well-deserved win in the Continental Tyres League Cup and one that has boosted the squad ahead of another tough test.

Leicester remain at the foot of the top-flight standings, but would move to within four points of 10th-place Everton should they emerge victorious this weekend.

“It was great to finally get the win after eight games,” the Dutch defender reflected during Friday’s virtual pre-match press conference. “I think after losing all those games, to finally get the win, it was a great feeling.

“It wasn’t the three points in the league, but three points in the Conti Cup with two girls on the scoresheet who haven’t scored before this season. We were in high spirits, we were buzzing.

“I think it does feel like a turning point. If you saw the last couple of games, you could see that we were quite unlucky. Against Brighton, I think we deserved to get at least a point out of the game. They scored in the 94th minute.

“But to finally get the win on Wednesday, it builds some momentum, I think it’s good for the squad to have a positive mindset and to build for Everton at the weekend.”

De Graaf, who has featured in six of City’s seven WSL fixtures this term, knows all too well the size of the task in hand for the Foxes on Sunday, given that Everton triumphed 3-1 when they last visited Leicester in the League Cup earlier this month.

However, the former West Ham United defender feels ready for the challenge and, as recent performances have demonstrated, believes they can be more than a match for their Merseyside opponents.

The 24-year-old explained: “We tweaked our formation a little bit, we’ve been training hard for the last couple of weeks and the win is definitely around the corner, I think. Everyone is waiting for that and everyone is ready for that as well. Everyone is feeling it.

“We played Everton a few weeks ago and the first half we started quite badly. But in the second half we picked up our game and put them under pressure. I think we are going to go out there and do that again.

“From the last game we played against them, we tried to press them in the second half and I think that worked very well. They didn’t know what to do with the pressure, they gave the ball to us and we actually created something. We scored a goal from it, so I think we can do that again on Sunday.

“The past couple of weeks, we have been building and if we win the game at home, in front of all the fans, then that would be brilliant, to finally get off the zero-point mark, which would help as well.”

Purchase match tickets for the Pirelli Stadium clash with Everton by clicking HERE.