Everton Women will look to bounce back from their opening weekend defeat to West Ham United when they take on Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
The Blues had a disappointing start to their 2022/23 campaign under new manager Brian Sorensen as Lisa Evans' goal on the brink of half-time separated the two sides on the day. After a 10th-placed finish in the Women's Super League last term, it's been a summer of change for Everton as the new boss was tasked with bringing a new identity to the team.
Despite the narrow defeat at the Hammers, defender Megan Finnigan says Sorensen's arrival has been 'refreshing' for the Blues as they look to improve on last season's struggles.
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“It’s been really good and really refreshing to have that stability because last year was a really challenging year for everyone," she told the ECHO. "To have him come in and steady the ship has been really nice because we needed that.
“He brings a clear philosophy with him, he’s got a very clear way of playing, which is starting to show. Everyone seems to be really enjoying it and the girls he’s brought in as well have gelled really well with the group.”
Finnigan was an unused substitute last Sunday due to a minor niggle, but despite the result, admits it hasn't taken much to lift the spirits of the squad as they gear up for a derby at Anfield.
She continued: “The West Ham game was so disappointing for us result wise and performance wise. It wasn’t a true reflection of how we can play, it’s not the way we want to play. On top of that, we came out without anything from the game so it was a disappointing start to the season.
“There’s no better game to bounce back than a Merseyside derby and I don't think the boss has had to say too much (to lift spirits), if you can’t motivate yourself and get yourself up for a game against Liverpool then there’s something wrong.
"Everyone knows what lies ahead on Sunday, everyone is really excited. His messages have just been tactical details and fine tuning what we can do to improve. He’s been really calm, he’s a really calm guy anyway so there’s been no panic within the group.”
Liverpool, on the other hand, had the dream start upon their return to the top flight with a dramatic 2-1 victory against Chelsea at Prenton Park. After going a goal down within minutes, it was shaping up to be a long afternoon for Matt Beard's side before they snatched three points after two late penalties from Katie Stengel.
Everton are preparing to face a Liverpool team full of confidence and Finnigan added: “I expect a similar performance to what they did against Chelsea. They’re a really well disciplined team, they’re well structured and they work really hard for each other. It’s a typical Matt Beard team, really!
“They’ll be on top of the world after the Chelsea win and we have to expect them to come into this game full of confidence, which I’m sure they will. I’m expecting a really tight game, I think they’ll be hard to break down and we have to be ready for that.”
This will be the second time these two teams have met at Anfield after they faced each other back in November 2019, the season Liverpool found themselves relegated from the top flight. Everton emerged victorious on the day, in front of a crowd close to 23,000, following a strike from Lucy Graham at the end of the first-half.
The Blues confirmed on Thursday they have sold out their away allocation at Anfield for the encounter this weekend and Finnigan believes the fans will have a huge part to play this time around.
“The fans will be massive for us," she added. "We were scheduled to play our first game of the season at home (to Leicester City) and I know that was close to a sell out so it was disappointing we couldn’t have that because I know it would have made a huge difference for us.
“However many Liverpool fans are there (on Sunday), I don’t think it will matter because I think our fans will be very much heard. That’s what we need and it will be nice for our families to be with them as well. I know it’s cliche but I think they can be the 12th man and every bit of help is needed in a derby.
“These games are tough because you have to get a fine balance and make sure you’re playing the game (not the occasion). You have to be disciplined with your emotions and channel your focus.
“It’ll be on Sky Sports, it’s at Anfield, we know everyone is going to be watching. It can be easy to let that consume you but I think we just have to focus on our game. Especially after last week, we have to get the three points and we know that.
“If you can’t handle that type of pressure, then why are we playing football. It’s what we live for, it’s why we do what we do and we should enjoy it rather than fear it or let it consume us.”
After a turbulent 2021/22 campaign and summer of change at Everton, the Blues are aiming for consistency this term and will hope to get up and running against their biggest rival.
Speaking on the club's aims for the season, Finnigan said: “We haven’t put too much pressure on a specific aim, in terms of where to finish in the league table. Internally, our aims are to gather consistency within our performances. We didn’t manage to do that last week, but we’re very much in a building phase as a team.
“New manager, new players. We can’t expect things to happen overnight, it will take time. As the season goes on, we just want to develop consistency and hopefully with that results will come because we go into every game wanting three points and we know on our day we can beat anyone in the league.
“But that all comes with consistency in our performances and our style of play. There’s not too much pressure on where we finish, but we just take each game as it comes.”
Off the back of the Lionesses' success at the Euros in the summer, clubs across the league are aiming to see attendances rise week in, week out. The Blues were expecting close to a sell-out at Walton Hall Park for their rescheduled match against Leicester earlier this month and that's something Finnigan hopes the club can achieve regularly this season.
She concluded: “For the teams in Liverpool, we want more people at our games and actual bums on seats! I think in the Euros, and even before the Euros, a lot more people are tuning into women’s football because it’s a lot more accessible through the media, which is really good.
“But, we want to be playing in packed out stadiums whether that’s Walton Hall Park for us, or Prenton Park for Liverpool. I think it’s important that every game we try and max that out as close as we can and we have to use the Euros as a catalyst for that.
“It’s really nice playing in stadiums like Anfield, of course, but if we can’t fill it out then maybe we have to go back, like I say, to filling out Prenton Park and Walton Hall Park first and foremost. The chance to play at Anfield is a massive incentive for anyone, so it’s really good we can do that and hopefully there’s a good turnout on Sunday.”
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