Rachel Corsie could play pivotal role in Aston Villa Women success v Manchester City in FA Cup
In games of the magnitude of Aston Villa Women’s FA Cup quarter-final clash against Manchester City, the stage is usually set for big-name players to step up and deliver the goods.
The likes of Rachel Daly and Jordan Nobbs will feature in the majority of headlines for the crunch clash on Sunday (19 March), but Aston Villa centre-back Rachel Corsie could, in fact, be Carla Ward’s trump card.
The defender has been quietly going about her business since joining the West Midlands club from Kansas City Current last year, featuring in 13 games this season and striking up a strong partnership with fellow summer recruit Dan Turner in the heart of Villa’s defence.
Although the Scotland captain has suffered a couple of niggling injuries this term and been in a battle for a starting line-up spot with Arsenal loanee Anna Patten, her leadership both on and off the field has been greatly received by Ward.
If selected in the starting line-up against title hopefuls Manchester City, Corsie will have her hands full trying to keep the Women’s Super League top scorer Khadija Shaw quiet. The 26-year-old has been in sparkling goal-scoring form this season, netting 15 times from as many games, as well as picking up four assists. [BBC Sport]
The importance that Shaw holds to Manchester City is similar to that of Daly for Aston Villa.
If the former Birmingham City loanee can negate the threat that the City forward holds, Villa will stand a far greater chance of getting a result out of the clash and booking a spot in the last four of the competition.
Corsie’s experience of big games of this nature is what makes her stand out from her Villa counterparts.
Having accumulated 140 caps for Scotland over her career and the fact she has played in her fair share of knock-out matches could make the Villa defender the most important player on the Bescot Stadium pitch on Sunday.
Big games such as this call for leaders to step up, and none are more equipped than Corsie to do so.
In other Aston Villa news, Dan Bardell admits one Villa loanee has “no pathway” under Unai Emery, with a recent signing being the final blow.