LONDON — Charlton Athletic women's team will face Liverpool, a Women's Super League club, in the Women's FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday at 14:30 GMT for a place in the semi-finals. The match comes as Charlton sit second in Women's Super League 2 with two games remaining, level on points with leaders Birmingham City and separated only by goal difference.

Charlton had a 27-game unbeaten run this season before it ended in March. The club once held a nine-point lead in the league but lost three of their four most recent matches, and after losses last month they were overtaken at the top of the table by Birmingham.

Charlton have conceded 17 goals, the fewest of any team in the league, and have kept eight clean sheets, more than any other side. Six teams can still earn promotion to the Women's Super League with less than a month remaining before the season concludes.

Charlton manager Karen Hills said the team's position exceeded expectations. "If we'd have told me in pre-season this is where we would be at this point, I'd have bitten your hand off," she said. "These players deserve to be where they are. The amount of work that they've put in, the way that they've played and the way that they've executed everything we've asked of them, they deserve all the accolades and the achievements."

Hills said external pressures had affected the squad during the title race. "Outside noise talks about promotion, family and friends talk about it, so players probably feel it. There is a lot on social media and outsiders influence that," she said. "All of a sudden you start believing in it. It's about making sure that we don't get too high or too low, and just concentrate on the next game."

Charlton striker Amalie Thestrup pointed to team culture as a factor in the club's season. "No-one is bigger than the team. A lot of clubs want that because that makes you really strong. That's not just done, it's a culture that's built and maintained," Thestrup said. "That's really something that stood out to me. Our biggest strength is our whole team, and I think we've shown this season how far that can take you."