YORK City Ladies top-scorer Alice Hughes hopes to see a full LNER Community Stadium this evening to watch her side take on Hull City Ladies (7.45pm).
The Minsterbelles head into the match having triumphed against both Merseyrail and Middlesborough 2-0 and 4-1 respectively, before falling to a 4-2 defeat against Newcastle last weekend.
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Hull sit six points above York in the FA Women’s National League division one north table, and are unbeaten in 2023.
It is six months to the day since the sides last faced off, with Steph Fairless’s Belles seeking to avenge September’s 4-2 defeat in front of what they hope will be a bumper crowd.
Felicity Jones opened the scoring for the Minsterbelles in the 24th minute that day, but despite Jess Holder’s 49th-minute equaliser, doubles from Hope Knight and Rachael Ackroyd secured a comfortable victory for the East Yorkshire outfit.
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Some 2,280 spectators tuned into the Ladies’ 1-1 draw with Leeds United at the LNER in October, and Hughes has her fingers crossed for a similar attendance tonight.
“Oh, absolutely,” she told Jorvik Radio. “Fingers crossed it’ll be more than that!
“Speaking for myself, and on behalf of the other girls, we obviously can’t wait to get back there – it’s always such a big, special occasion to play there.
“It’s a real privilege, so I can’t wait to be back there, hopefully with a few more fans this time.
“Hearing the crowd cheer you on does a huge amount for our game. Hearing people support us spurs us on, so definitely the more the merrier!
“From our previous game in the season, it was a bit of a feisty occasion and I think that it’ll be pretty similar again.
“They’ve got a good run of form and they are a strong team, but I think, based on our results where we’ve been picking up momentum, that we’re going to do pretty well.
“I think that it’ll be a good game to come down and watch definitely!"
Tickets are available both online and from the North Stand ticket booth, priced at £5 for adults, whilst Under 12s go free.
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