Birmingham City defender Kerys Harrop believes her side have firmly despatched their underdog tag ahead of this weekend’s SSE Women’s FA Cup Final.
Blues face Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on Saturday looking to lift the trophy for a second time, having tasted glory in 2012 when they defeated Chelsea on penalties at Ashton Gate.
Harrop’s side have had to do things the hard way on their road to Wembley this year, including recording victories over both Arsenal and Chelsea – last season’s SSE Women’s FA Cup Finalists.
And with rookie Finalists to come in the shape of Man City, Harrop believes her Blues have nothing to fear, despite facing off against the FA WSL 1 champions and FA WSL Continental Tyres Cup holders in front of what is set to be a competition-record crowd for the competition.
She said: “Everyone is really excited. We’re all buzzing to have got there, all the girls can’t wait for it and we’re counting down the days until we get to do it.
“We’ve had a fantastic journey. We beat West Bromwich Albion and then had tough challenges in Arsenal who are the Cup holders, and Chelsea so we’ve done well.
“To be able to beat those so-called bigger teams has been fantastic, and now we want to go one better and beat Man City as well. To say we’ve done it that way would show we’re deserving winners of the Cup.”
Harrop continued: “City are a very strong team, they haven’t lost a game in the league for a year and hold two other trophies so we’ve got to respect that.
“They have got quality players but we’ll go to the game with a plan and see what we can do.
“We don’t see ourselves as underdogs anymore, we’re really pushing on in the Cup and the league and we’re keen to show what we can do.”
Blues have been in fine form so far in 2017, with Marc Skinner having replaced former boss David Parker, who resigned in December after five years in charge.
Harrop and fellow defender Emily Westwood are the only survivors from when Birmingham got their hands on the Cup five years ago. This year, however, Harrop has been upgraded to the role of captain, given the honour of leading her side out at the home of football.
And the centre back admits it’s a moment that has played through her mind ever since the semi-final victory over Chelsea.
Harrop added: “It’s any girl’s dream as a youngster to play at Wembley, so the fact that the SSE Women’s FA Cup Final is there is just amazing.
“Every time I mentioned it I can’t stop smiling. It’s gone through my mind a lot, being captain, but you have to try and keep it in the back of your mind.
“We’ve definitely got a lot of young players in the team, so Emily and I will have to impart out knowledge and share our experiences for sure.
“Winning it in 2012 was fantastic, not only for myself and my team-mates but for my friends and family who came down, so to be able to do that a second time would be amazing, especially at Wembley.”
Tickets can still be purchased via TheFA.com/Tickets or by calling 0844 826 2010.
Children can attend the Final for free thanks to The FA’s partnership with SSE.
Adult tickets are priced at £15 and group booking and Charter Standard discounts apply.
