The Liverpool FC Women’s manager wasn’t happy with his team’s 1-0 opening loss, but he feels there were positives to take from the game, and that his team has the mentality to bounce back and push on.
It was the start of a new season for the Liverpool FC Women’s team, with a new manager, and quite a few new faces of players who had come down from the WSL to join the Reds. Despite all of that, it was a familiar old feeling of frustration as Liverpool dropped to a 0-1 home loss to the London City Lionesses.
For a team with promotion aspirations, it was a bitter pill to swallow, especially considering London City finished 3 spots and 15 points behind Liverpool in the table last season. While the result left many fans ruing missed chances and decrying unforced defensive errors, Liverpool’s manager, Matt Beard, took a slightly more positive bent to the outcome.
We know how tough it is. You can see how London raised their game, with us being back at Prenton Park with the fans. For most parts, we did okay. I know that we still have plenty to fine-tune and it’s disappointing we didn’t get the right result, but there are positives we can take. We have to take it on the chin but we’ll be fine. The group has shown immense character and we won’t let this define what is to come. We responded really well after the goal, but the way the game went it did look like a set-piece would decide it. It’s frustrating not to get anything from the game. Credit to London, they put us under pressure and made it a scrappy match.
Of course, a season isn’t won (or hopefully lost) in the first game, and Liverpool were not the only team with aspirations of promotion to be pipped on the day. Lewes, who finished in second place last season, drew 0-0 with Charlton Athletic. Sheffield United, who finished just behind Liverpool last year, lost 2-0 to Blackburn Rovers.
With only 20 games in the FA Women’s Championship, however, the margins for error become smaller. Every point becomes more precious for these teams as they duke it out for the sole promotion spot. Hopefully Beard can get his squad firing as they travel to take on Watford next weekend.
