Swansea City star Chloe Chivers looks ahead to Wrexham clash

Without a shadow of a doubt, the season opener between Wrexham and Swansea will go down in Adran Premier folklore.

The game had everything. Goals, drama, flare ups, and eventually, it finished 3-3.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, much of the focus was on Wrexham. With their famous owners, their first game since promotion, the game really started their hype train, which is still rolling down the tracks so far this season.

But what of Swansea? A team where winning has become the norm, suddenly had drawn their opening game to a newly promoted side.

For Chloe Chivers, while she explained the Swans were confident going into the contest, they certainly didn’t expect Wrexham’s rock and roll style.

“We played them in the cup the year before, but there’s obviously been a lot of change to Wrexham since that game.

“It was a case of preparing for what we knew about them and then adapt to anything different on the pitch and hopefully we’d be able to control the game.

“The way they played was a big shock for us, because we never expect teams to come at us like they did.

“Over the last few years, there have only been two teams really who have come at us. We knew we would get a fighting team, but we didn’t know what to fully expect when we went up there.

“It really was a new challenge for us to deal with.”

A lot has changed for Swansea since that pulsating game at The Rock, most notably in the dugout.

Ceri Phillips shockingly departed the club just three games into the season, and since then, Chris Church has been in interim charge.

Church has had experience of managing the first team in the past, and while the departure of Phillips did cause shockwaves in the squad, Chivers hailed the work Church has done.

“It’s something you never expect as players to happen. A lot has changed, but it’s something, as a squad, we’ve dealt with quite well.

“We’ve had Churchy be in charge of us previously, so he is a familiar face to a lot of us in the team, and we’ve all pulled together as a squad and got some good results recently.

“As players we’ve taken the initiative and decided we need to go out and get results, despite everything that’s going on.

“We’ve grasped it, taken it, and used it to our advantage, and it’s really spurred us on to show we are made of something, and we do have that determination.”

Swansea will be looking to continue their good run of form against the Red Dragons on Sunday at the Swansea.com Stadium.

The game for Chivers maybe has more of a significance, after a season full of ups and downs last season.

“I missed both home stadium games through injury. I was out with an ACL injury for the game against Cardiff Met, and then for the game against Cardiff City, I missed out on that by a couple of weeks. It was heartbreaking to be that close.

“We played at Cardiff City Stadium too at the end of last year, and I had split my head open in the run up to that, so I missed out there too.

“I haven’t had a great record in stadium games, but touch wood I’ll be fine and raring to go for this one. It is a big moment for me and one I’m really excited about.

“I’m looking forward to getting out in front of our fans and show what I can do.”

If Chivers is looking for any inspiration to perform on the big stage, she doesn’t need to look any further than Katy Hosford.

The captain seems to score in every stadium game she plays in, and Chivers was very complimentary about her new skipper.

“Katy took over the captaincy late last year, and that was a big change for us having a new face as captain.

“She’s been at the club for years and years; she’s an older head and she does have a lot of experience.

“She’s a great person to be around, she’s a good leader, and a good character to have around any squad.”

Chivers and Hosford are outstanding forwards in their own right, but they do trail Wrexham number nine Rosie Hughes in the goalscoring standings.

Hughes is suspended for this upcoming fixture, but Chivers has been impressed with how the striker has adapted to life in the top tier.

“It is a big deal not facing her, because she is the top scorer in the league, and that threat will be out of the way.

“It is a big loss for Wrexham, a massive loss, but they have got other goal scorers on the pitch, and we need to make sure we stop them.

“Playing in leagues below the Adran Premier, you can look at it sometimes and ask yourself is it the player or is it more the teams they’re coming up against.

“Like you can have six goals in one game then score one goal the next, you just never know.

“But she’s carried on that momentum into the Prem and that’s good for her.

“It’s a good thing that she’s come into this league and shown what she’s all about.”

The absence of Hughes will make Swansea’s life easier, but Wrexham will certainly still be a threat, and the home side know how big a win would be.

Their last game was a narrow defeat in the South Wales Derby, and Chivers and the rest of the squad are fully aware of what a win would do for them on Sunday.

“It’s a massive game in our season, and in many ways it’s a turning point game. It’s one of our last league games before Christmas so it is a big one.

“We need to go out and get ourselves back to where we were. We need to be confident, utilise our strengths, go out and perform, while also enjoying the occasion.

“Once we enjoy the occasion, the football will come as well. It was tough coming off that defeat in the derby, but it’s all about how we rectify that in training and how we bounce back on Sunday.”

(Featured Image: Ashley Crowden/FAW)