Sunderland captain prepares for Stadium of Light Semi-Final clash.
Sunderland v Chelsea
The FA Women’s Cup sponsored by E.ON
Semi-Final
2pm, Sunday 22 March 2009
Stadium of Light, Sunderland AFC
Winning clubs will receive £2,500 from The FA
Ticket Hotline: 0871 911 1973
Tickets £3 adults and £1 children and concessions
On a massive double red-letter day for Sunderland, the Northern Division club are, on Sunday, set to face Chelsea in what will not only be their first FA Women’s Cup sponsored by E.ON Semi-Final but also their debut appearance at their parent club’s Stadium of Light.
It will be the biggest day in the history of the club, originally known as Cowgate Kestrels when they were formed in 1989 – which, co-incidentally, was the year in which current captain Stephanie Bannon was born.
And just to bring things nicely full circle, it will be central defender Bannon’s 20th birthday on Sunday. No guesses, then, as to the present the birthday girl would most like to receive as she prepares to lead the Black Cats out on their historic day.
"Going through to The FA Women's Cup Final would be the best present I could possibly get," says Bannon, "but the match is the most important thing on Sunday and I won’t be thinking about my birthday until the Semi-Final is finished.
"Everybody is so excited about playing at the Stadium of Light and it’s going to be a great day for everyone connected with the club. But for the team it’s important that we are not overawed by the venue or the occasion.
"We’ll be massive underdogs against the third highest team in the Premier League, and even though they’ve just been weakened a bit by losing a couple of players to American clubs, they’re still one of the best teams in the country.
"So we know that we’ll have to be right on top of our game to go through. But we beat Bristol Academy from the top flight in the last round, so we know that if we’re at our very best we could reach The Final."
Sunderland’s very best has already made them favourites to win the Northern Division as well as reach an FA Cup Semi-Final, in which they should get excellent support after the huge interest that has been generated because of their Stadium of Light appearance.
The team were given access to the stadium on Thursday evening, giving them a feel of a 49,000-capacity arena that could, as Bannon hints, be over-awesome to anyone with the slightest of nervous dispositions.
And that factor, says the Chelsea player-manager Casey Stoney, could work in the visitors’ favour. "A lot of our squad have played in big stadiums," says the England defender, "so we shouldn’t be fazed by the Stadium of Light.
"Playing there should suit us, but that’s not to say we’re expecting an easy game. We’ve had Sunderland watched, we know what a good side they are and we’re preparing for the game as we would if we were playing against Arsenal.
"As the Premier League team, the pressure will be on us. So I’ll be telling my team to play the game, not the occasion. We want to go on and win The FA Cup – but the only thing we’ll be thinking about on Sunday is how to beat Sunderland."