ELFORD LOOKING TO UTILISE HOME ADVANTAGE AGAINST STOKE

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Striker previews Potters test

2025-02-16T08:29:13.226Z

ELFORD LOOKING TO UTILISE HOME ADVANTAGE AGAINST STOKE

Striker previews Potters test

2025-02-16T08:29:13.226Z

Striker previews Potters test

Two in-form sides in Burnley and Stoke City Women meet at the County Ground in Leyland this afternoon.

Both teams have won their last five matches and come into this one on the back of big victories midweek, with Burnley scoring five unanswered goals against Liverpool Feds.

Striker Laura Elford earned her first start of 2025 against the Merseysiders and continued her own personal run of form, scoring for a third straight appearance.

Reflecting on the night, she said: “It was a really good team performance. We were patient, we stuck to the game plan and executed it well.

“We were keen to keep another clean sheet which is credit to the defensive unit and goalkeepers, and we were relentless going forward.

“I’ve been coming off the bench and scoring so I just wanted to maintain the same standards and take the opportunity I was given in the starting 11 by contributing to the team and win.

“We didn’t have secure possession of the ball so it was a case of waiting for that.

“When the ball rolled across goal, I just used my body to let it run past the defender and I so that it was almost a one-on-one without a shot pack to block. From there I was able to place it into the corner left footed."

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In truth, Elford has been in goalscoring form for most of the season and has 23 goals to her name from 22 appearances, with 10 of those coming in the league.

That’s better than last season’s total of 17 already and with eight league games still to come including today, the 29-year-old reflected on her numbers to date.

“I’m proud of the achievement so far,” she continued.

“It’s obviously nice to surpass a personal goal but it’s more about how the goals have contributed to our performances and success during the season.

“Obviously I’ll be aiming to finish the season strong and continue adding to the tally to support the team.”

Burnley’s number 29 played a key role when these two teams met in the reverse fixture back in September, netting a brace and providing an assist for Charley Docherty.

She finished by reflecting on that afternoon and looking ahead to the kind of challenge she and her team-mates are expecting today.

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“It was a tough game as always when you play Stoke,” Elford said.

“We were patient and took our chances early, which helped us to settle into it and push on to take all three points.

“Stoke are well organised and we know how they like to set up when they play.

“We’ll be looking to identify any threats and areas we can exploit early on and will use the principles we’ve been working hard on in training to counter them.

“We’re expecting a battle but we’ve got the home advantage, we’re in good form and we’ll be looking to continue it this weekend.”

Burnley season ticket holders can gain entry for free by showing their season ticket at the turnstiles. Other adults are £5, while concessions are £2.

If you can’t be at the County Ground (PR25 2LF) in person, be sure to follow live updates on our dedicated women’s social media channels.

A match report will follow the final whistle on www.burnleyfootballclub.com too, and we will have post-match reaction from Rebecca Sawiuk and her players on social media.