Carla Ward hits out at three-day turnaround as Birmingham City face Everton in FA semi-final
Birmingham City manager Carla Ward has called the three-day turnaround between her side's FA Cup quarter-final and semi-final "ridiculous" and "an injustice to the competition".
Last season's FA Cup had been on hold since February, when lockdown stopped play. In order to complete the competition the quarter-final and semi-final rounds are being played in quick succession over five days this week, ahead of the Wembley final on November 1.
Ward's side and their last-four opponents Everton have invariably drawn the short straw, though, in being forced to play on Wednesday just three days on from their quarter-finals last Sunday. By comparison, Manchester City and Arsenal - who play in the second semi-final on Thursday - have been allowed five days between their respective fixtures.
While Everton manager Willie Kirk was not as concerned by the scheduling, underdogs City have the added difficulty of recovering from playing a 120-minute, quarter-final thriller against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon, which culminated in a dramatic penalty shoot-out. Ward said the decision to have them play on Wednesday, rather than Thursday, was incomprehensible.
"I’m not going to lie, if you want one word, it's ridiculous." Ward said in a press conference on Tuesday. "Whoever made that decision? Honestly, I cannot get my head around how anyone thinks it would be the right decision to play a quarter-final of the FA Cup, probably the most prestigious competition in football, and then play three days later in the semi-finals. It’s an injustice to the competition, because actually these players have gone out and given 120 minutes and we’ve got to pull them in on their day off [on Monday] to try and give us every chance."
Ward, 36, was only put in charge of the club in August, three weeks before the start of the season. Ironically, she was kicked out of this same FA Cup competition by City back in January, while managing Sheffield United. She said Sunday's quarter-final win with her new side was "the highlight" of her managerial career so far, but also admitted that the odds are stacked against them on Wednesday.
City were beset by player exits over the summer and have a smaller squad to work with. Additionally, Everton loanee Georgia Brougham will not be available, despite scoring the winning penalty at the weekend, due to a clause in her contract barring her from playing her club in the competition. "We’ve got 12 players that really need some recovery, we could do with the extra time," Ward added.
City, who only narrowly avoided relegation in the Women's Super League last season, last won the FA Cup in 2012 and reached the final at Wembley three years ago. Ward said to get there again would be a credit to the players who stuck by a struggling club over the summer: "I got emotional even thinking about it, because these girls have had a tough ride. Make no bones about it, they didn't even know if they'd have a football club to play with this season. So for them it would be a dream, they deserve it. They stuck by the club and they're really shining now."
