Chichester City boss Matt Wright says being paired with Liverpool in the SSE Women’s FA Cup fifth round is “the draw of a lifetime” for his players.
The West Sussex outfit will entertain Scott Rogers’s side on Sunday afternoon with a place in the last eight up for grabs.
And he believes the plum draw is just rewards for the commitment his players have shown over the years.
Wright said: “We’ve got some good players here who have played at a high level.
“And it’s great to see some of the best players in the country, if not the world, coming to Chichester for a Cup tie.
“The girls play for this club for no money and they drive from all over to train and play for us.
“They make huge personal sacrifices to play for us and for them to get the opportunity to see where they’re at against a club like Liverpool; it’s the draw of a lifetime for a lot of the girls.
“This draw has given the whole city a bit of a buzz.”
FA Women’s Premier League Southern Division side Chichester defeated C&K Basildon, Luton Town and TNS on their way to the fifth round, edging the latter on penalties last time out.
Liverpool smashed five goals past fellow FA WSL side Watford in round four and Wright is fully aware of the size of the task his players face at the weekend.
He said: “People have asked me what are chances are of winning. If we played them 1,000 times I think we’d probably win once. But you just never know with football. Sunday might be our one day in that 1,000.
“They are one of the top sides in the country, if not Europe. We’re expecting to get overwhelmed by their athleticism and skill on the ball.
“If we play to our best and get a bit of luck on the day you never know.
“We go into every game with the idea of winning it. We’re not a team that will sit back and defend. We’ll have a go at Liverpool and see where that takes us.
“But it’s The FA Cup, it’s the greatest competition in the world, and anything can happen.
“It’s always great to play a team of Liverpool’s standards. We can benchmark against them and see where we are at as a club.”
Wright added: “Our Cup run so far has brought us every type of challenge. We’ve had two lots of extra-time, one penalty shootout, two penalties in open play and a long stoppage due to an injured player.
“It’s nice to have been rewarded with a big home draw against one of the best teams in the country. It’s an exciting prospect.”
This season’s SSE Women’s FA Cup Final takes place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 5 May.
Tickets are already on sale, priced £15 for adults while kids go FREE!
