We ran out 4-0 winners over Everton in the Women’s Super League on Sunday - but it wasn’t all plain sailing.
The Toffees had a clear gameplan from the off as they looked to frustrate us with their deep block and defensive organisation, forcing Joe Montemurro into a number of tactical changes at the break.
We spoke to our manager after the final whistle - and this is what he said.
on a difficult start to the game…
We worked out that they were going to be defending in numbers and even their top two were dropping off - and they were playing a 442 - so they were really defending below the halfway line. We had to be smart and patient about when we could break them down and when we could go forward, so it was a very difficult scenario in the first 30 minutes. The conditions didn’t make it any easier either, because it was very difficult to keep possession on that surface.
on the manic end to the first half…
The most important thing for me is that we’re probing, we’re creating chances and we’re getting past their defenders, we just had to find different ways to get past their really deep block because they had numbers back. We couldn’t go beyond them, so we had to drag them out with intricate passing and then go, and that allowed us to create an abundance of chances.
on our instant reaction after the break…
There was a little tactical change and some tweaks in midfield, but we just had to pull players out from their defensive block and work on different lines of passing where we could play a little further forward and a little earlier in dangerous areas. We found that through our wingers and through our 10 by dragging out their block, so there were some tactical tweaks, but the reality is that we controlled the game from start to finish and their only chances came through sloppiness from our point of view.
on making the best ever start to a WSL season…
Statisticians have records that are there to be broken and we’re more than happy to break them. It’s all credit to the players and staff because they deserve it. They’ve worked very, very hard and the good thing is that we’re doing it in our style, in our way and with our style of play - and that’s the most important thing for me.
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