Cardiff Met striker Robyn Pinder has challenged her team to be more clinical ahead of their Adran Trophy final against Cardiff City.
The Archers and the Bluebirds have met three times this season, with City coming out on top on each occasion. While their last game was the closest meeting this season, Pinder has said the side has to get into the final third more to flip a loss into a win.
“We have to be more clinical. When we look back on the stats we had a lot of possession in the semi-final, but we didn’t create enough. We need to be fitter first and foremost, we need to cover more yards, be able to get up and down the pitch more frequently.
“When we get good numbers in the opposition box or the final third, we create dangerous chances, but we need more of them. Maybe also a bit more self-belief and bravery, because when we play football, we play really good football.
“But it almost takes us to go one or two goals down before we actually think we need to do something about this right now.”
This is Pinder’s second stint at Cyncoed, having re-joined from Pontypridd United last season. The striker explained she had no hesitation in coming back to her Archers family.
“Met is like home for me. I’m at that age now where I’m almost 30, I’m not really old but I’m older than most players in the league! I just want to be enjoying my football and all of my best friends are at Met; Steph Turner, Emily Allen, Yzzy Taylor, so that was the big driving factor for me.”
With two goals and seven assists so far, it’s looking like another productive season for Pinder, but it could’ve been a lot different, as she explained her struggles at the beginning of the season.
“I had vertigo a month into the season, so I played the first two or three games super dizzy.
“It was so strange! I woke up one morning and felt super dizzy, and I thought I had just stood up too quick, but the feeling didn’t pass for about four or five weeks. I tried to play too soon, and I couldn’t really run without falling over.
“But I got used to the feeling of being dizzy like any time I checked my shoulder, that’s what would throw me off balance. So there a few dodgy games where I felt a bit spiny but luckily no injuries during that period.”
Throughout the interview, Pinder always referenced manager Yzzy Taylor as a friend and a key part of her coming back to Cyncoed.
It is still hard to believe that Taylor is the only female manager in the Adran Premier, but her drive and tactical nous is inspiring the next generation of coaches.
“She’s a fantastic coach and I really respect her so much. I’m not biased because she’s one of my best friends!
“But she gives so much of her time up, she puts her whole heart and soul into it, and she’s a great coach in terms of the detail she gives.
“She’s up there in terms of her ability, her knowledge of the game, and she is a role model to anybody who’s looking to coach in the women’s game and we’re lucky to have her.”
Sunday’s final at the SDM Glass Stadium is of course a rematch from last year’s final, where a late Erin Murray goal sealed a 1-0 victory for Met.
While the Bluebirds have certainly been the cream of the crop in Welsh football this year, Pinder says that they can take the game to their opponents and can get a result on Sunday.
“On our day, if we perform how we’re capable of performing, we do genuinely believe we can beat anybody. It is just a matter of consistency for us.
“We have beaten them before. The squad is full of winners like Emily Allen, Tija Richardson, Steph Turner, all of them have won everything in the league loads of times.
“There’s belief that we can do anything, we just need to arrive on the day in the right frame of mind and have more self-belief, have more bravery.”
Cardiff Met take on Cardiff City in the Adran Trophy final on Sunday March 12th. Kick off at the SDM Glass Stadium is at 2pm.
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