“Get in their face”: Copus-Brown reveals game plan for Emerging Jets

Libby Copus-Brown has outlined a forthright strategy for her team when the Manly United FC women’s First grade team take on Emerging Jets at Cromer Park on Sunday afternoon.

“We need to play our game, take control early and move them around. We need to make them work without the ball. They are a young team so we need to get in their face early,” Copus-Brown said, adding that Manly was full of respect for the young Novocastrians.

“Kirsty Fenton is solid at the back for them, and they have pace in Tessa Tamplin at fullback.  Tianha Robertson, their keeper, is very good. And Chloe Smith is technically very good as well and can strike a ball.

“They are young without not much experience but that doesn’t take away their ability. They are a well-structured team and technically very good,” Copus-Brown said.

United coach Tom Hopley agreed. “Similar to the Institute team we played last week the Jets will be filled with young, fit and enthusiastic footballers with high technical ability. They’ve lost most of their games by the odd goal this year, so they will be very tricky opponents.

“They often suffer from inexperience and a little naivety, if that makes sense. We think we’ll have the edge on them in this department.

“But they have speed to burn. A number of our girls are from Newcastle and they know them all. So I expect them to be highly motivated.”

United’s results have been disappointing in previous weeks yet Copus-Brown said the team has remained positive. “We aren’t playing bad football we just need to play well consistently for the full 90 minutes. We need to make sure that we stay positive, switched on and start the game the way we have been finishing games,” Copus-Brown said.

Hopley: “We will look to attack them from the start. The message is: ‘Let’s get back to basics, undo the shackles and attack from the outset’. We have nothing to lose. The girls are up for a big one.”