Interview Leanne Kiernan's Merseyside derby preview: 'We are excited but calm'
Leanne Kiernan believes calmness could be key for Liverpool FC Women in today’s Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park.
Following last weekend’s loss to Chelsea, Matt Beard’s side will be hoping to get back to winning ways against the Blues in a 3pm GMT kick-off in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
With three WSL games remaining in 2024, the Reds head into this weekend having collected nine points from their seven outings so far this season. Everton, meanwhile, are bottom of the table and still await their first league victory of the campaign.
Ahead of the derby, striker Kiernan appeared on LFCTV’s Preview Show. Read her pre-match thoughts below…
On how much she is looking forward to the derby…
Exciting times! I have my whole family coming over from Ireland so I’m really looking forward to it. They love it and they love the city, so hopefully we can get a win on Sunday.
On the build-up to the game and the feeling within the camp…
I would say excitement, but everybody is calm. I feel like we are better when we just focus on ourselves and not make too big a deal about the game. We go into it, we know what we are doing and hopefully get the result.
On the challenge posed by Everton…
They didn’t get off to the best start, but you have to take into account they’ve lost two of their main players to bad injuries. They have played against some very tough teams and we can never underestimate them, especially with it being a derby. It’s a different kind of game and it’s like an FA Cup final. We don’t take any of that into account and we just focus on ourselves and we know what we can do right. So, right now, it’s just focusing on ourselves and try not to get carried away.
On Liverpool’s season so far…
It’s been a tough start but we know the WSL gets bigger and better, more competitive every year, so I feel like we kind of knew what to expect. We are moulding a few things together and trying to click in the forward line. We’ve had a few injuries with Sofie Lundgaard and Sophie Roman Haug so there has been a few disruptions to it, but we are really working hard on the training pitch and we are getting it together.
On how sharp she is feeling after starting the last two matches…
I feel great and am very grateful. Just being back in training you get so grateful for the little things like scoring, then hopefully you can bring that into the matches. I have no complaints at all, life is really good right now and hopefully we’ll get back to winning ways on Sunday.
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