A long-time Manchester City fan, Esme Morgan has attended hundreds of games at the Etihad Stadium as a supporter.
But on Sunday the defender will step onto the pitch for the first time as a player, in front of an expected crowd of over 40,000 for the Manchester derby.
“I had so many great memories at the Etihad so hopefully I can have one because I always dreamed of playing on this ground and never had the opportunity,” Morgan said.
With the exception of a brief spell on loan at Everton in 2019, which meant she missed the match against Manchester United the last time the derby was held at the Etihad, the 22-year-old has spent her entire playing career with her beloved Blues.
“I’ve been looking forward to this game since the summer when it was announced it would be at the Etihad, I’m so excited,” she told BBC Sport.
Morgan was ‘raised’ by going to City games and understands the deep-rooted rivalry between the red and blue halves of Manchester.
“This is the match you always look for on the calendar,” said Morgan, who “educated” her teammates on the importance of the feud.
“I said to the Spaniards [who played for Barcelona] how much we hate Manchester United. I said ‘you know how much you hate Real Madrid, it’s like that but more!'”
Morgan said she might find it hard to resist the crowd if she heard City chanting “if you hate Man United, cheer” around the Etihad.
“I’m going to hum in the background – I might do a little sideways flick and hope no one notices,” she joked.
The absence of away teams and the family atmosphere of women’s games means that rivalries so strong in men can seem softer in women.
But Morgan said that was not always the case for the Manchester derby.
“I think there are other rivalries in women’s football where it’s not as hectic, but our games always seem intense, fiery, back and forth between the crowds and we’ve had a few red cards over the course of of the last two seasons.
“Games are always close and you put aside any friendships you have with members of the other team for 90 minutes because it turns into a full battle.”
City had a rocky start to the Women’s Super League season, suffering a surprise defeat at Aston Villa and then failing against defending champions Chelsea.
Those losses came after a turbulent pre-season saw them lose a host of international talent, with Keira Walsh, Lucy Bronze and Georgia Stanway making big moves overseas and Ellen White retiring.
But manager Gareth Taylor has replaced those defeats with the exciting talents of midfielder Yui Hasegawa and Deyna Castellanos, while striker Khadija Shaw, who is the league’s top scorer with eight goals in eight games, easily got away with it. put in place of White, flanked by Lionesses superstar Chloe Kelly. and Lauren Hemp.
“After the Chelsea game it was about being more ruthless and clinical and weeding out mistakes,” Morgan said.
“Since we did that, we’ve had a really good winning streak, and the atmosphere within the team is great – everyone’s in a really good mood and we’ve really bonded with the team this year.”
A future English captain?
Despite her young years, Morgan has already demonstrated her natural leadership qualities at City, captaining the Blues once this season with manager Taylor hailing her as a “future England captain”.
Morgan says Taylor told her that after just three weeks of working with her.
“I laughed at him and said ‘what are you talking about’ and he was very serious. He has so much faith in me and I appreciate that because it allows me to go out and be confident and knowing that even if I make mistakes he still has faith in what I can be in the future,” she said.
Morgan came off the bench to make her Lionesses debut in a friendly against the Czech Republic in October, but said the captaincy was not something she had given much thought to.
“I just want to try to establish myself as a starter in the England team and then start in the starting team and see where that takes me,” she said.
“Wherever the team needs me to do a job, I will do my best.”
“We believe we will win the league”
For now, his main focus is to ensure his side’s unbeaten WSL record of three wins and two draws against their city rivals remains intact.
Not only is this game monumental in terms of bragging rights, it is also an important game in league context, where a win for City would see them move level on points with United into third.
Much of the title talk has focused on Chelsea, Arsenal and United but, having turned the tide and won their last six WSL games, Morgan says people shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss their credentials of title.
“After our slow start, people immediately wrote us off, from the inside we were watching this saying ‘don’t write us off too soon’ because we know what we have in this dressing room.
“We went under the radar, we just picked up points and nibbled and it may have dawned on people that we’re only three points behind United and Arsenal and six points behind Chelsea but with a game in hand. less.
“The league title is really in our sights and in our hands, and it’s a really exciting position with the confidence and belief that we have in the team.
“Before our game against Brighton, Gareth [Taylor] said we would win the league this season and I looked at everyone’s face and you could see we all believe in it and we are ready to fight for each other to make it happen.
“I really believe the team we have this year is capable of doing that.”
