Rosella Ayane hopes Everton's promotion push is back on trackThe Toffees travel to Oxford United on Sunday, looking to close the gap further on the top two
Everton brought a shaky run of form to an abrupt end on Sunday with a 3-0 defeat of Yeovil Town and Rosella Ayane hopes they can continue on an upward curve against Oxford United.
Prior to their emphatic victory over the Lady Glovers, where Chloe Kelly scored either side of Ayane’s first goal for the club, the Toffees had come unstuck with one point from matches against Millwall Lionesses, Watford and Sheffield.
Those clubs make up three of the bottom four in FA Women’s Super League 2, the quartet completed by this weekend’s opponents Oxford.
But Ayane, on loan from Chelsea, believes their bad patch is behind them.
“Hopefully this is a game where we can score a few goals and build our confidence,” said the striker, one of 11 players to have scored for Everton this term.
“They conceded a lot of goals at the beginning of the season, but they have improved on that and I think they are only going to get stronger.
“I played against them when I was at Bristol City and they put up a good fight, they can cause teams problems.
“We score a lot of goals and tend to share them out among us.
“It’s not good to have one goalscorer that shoulders the responsibility for goals and we have lots of players in our squad that can score.
“Everyone in the squad has shown they are capable.”
Among those looking to stop Ayane is another player on loan from Chelsea, Laura Rafferty.
The 20-year-old should be fit for Sunday’s game despite being forced off at half-time in defeat to Watford last time out with a dead leg.
That reverse followed hot on the heels of the same outcome against London Bees, two results that proved something of a disappointment after holding leaders Yeovil to a 2-2 draw.
And Rafferty is desperate for her team to get back on track.
“We put in a performance against Yeovil which shows we can do it,” said Rafferty.
“Everton will be a great test for us. It’s important to get our heads straight and I’m sure we will come out with a good result.
“We know they are a great side, I know a few of the girls personally, I play internationally with Simone Magill and I know she’s’ a great player.
“We have got some good players too though and we are looking forward to getting out on the pitch and proving a point.
“There’s no better game to play than when you are underdogs. We are all looking forward to the big game.”
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