Lathrope not fazed by higher-tier opposition after two FA Cup thrashings
Watford Head Coach Damon Lathrope says his side will ‘play our way’ against Championship side Crystal Palace in the third round of the FA Cup after they confirmed the tie with a 6-0 win over Crawley Wasps.
Captain Helen Ward’s 150th goal for the Golden Girls gave them a deserved lead in the first half, before goals from Andria Georgiou, Flo Fyfe, Annie Rossiter, and Ward again completed a second half rout.
This means the Golden Girls have scored 13 goals in the FA Cup this season, after their 7-1 victory over Fulham in the first round.
Watford were relegated from the Championship last season after finishing bottom, with next round opponents Crystal Palace finishing fourth.
However, since Lathrope took over as Head Coach at the start of the season, the Hornets have lost just twice, and scored a total of 47 goals in 13 games this season.
The former Torquay United defender said: “By no means are we going to go there and wait to lose.
“The way we operate as a group means we will play our way. At times, we will come unstuck doing it, and we’ve got no problem with that.
“We’re going in as big underdogs. Everyone will be expecting us to get battered. Everyone, bar us I think so.
“We’re going to have a go at them.”
Lathrope also believed it was massively important that the Golden Girls responded today after their last game ended in a 3-2 loss against Billericay Town.
He said: “We know it’s not all going to go our way, we know we’re going to have sticky spells throughout the season.
“How we deal with those spells is probably going to define our season.
“Fair play to the group. Off the back of a disappointing performance and result last time out, they have come back and done well.”
Helen Ward, Watford’s captain, and all-time leading goal scorer for the women, made her sixth start of the season today due to injury, and international commitments.
Lathrope was pleased to see Ward return, and make it through the full 90 minutes, believing that she needed that in her legs.
He was full of praise for her record-breaking performance, believing it makes the Welsh international difficult to leave out despite competition for places in the forward positions especially.
He added: “She doesn’t have to prove her place because for years she has proved she is an excellent football player.
“However, it is down to the players when you get your opportunity to take it, and she did that today.”
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