There was a lot for Renée Slegers to admire about Sunday’s 1-0 win over Manchester City.
She opted to start Olivia Smith in a more central position up front than what we’re used to seeing and it paid dividends as she opened the scoring early on.
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We then protected that lead in style, keeping a clean sheet against the Barclays Women’s Super League leaders.
“I think we played against the number one in the table today and they’ve been really, really good,” she said. “We also had high belief in ourselves going into this game. Two really good teams going against each other, with fine margins, with a lot of quality on the pitch, where momentum would shift. One thing we really focused on was to get those 50-50 moments on the pitch going our way, so work really hard for those moments. I think we did that really well.
“I’m happy with how the team manages the game. There’s one thing in the performance, there’s a lot of really good things in the performance, out of possession, in possession, but the way we manage the game and the different phases and the different things it asks from us, not least the way we finish the game with them stacking numbers, us bringing Laia Codina in and creating the back five.
“We just do that all together with so much humility and taking pride in defending, and that together with the fans, because they helped us get the win over the line as well. They were so loud. I’m really proud of the results and the performance as well.
“It was a really good goal. Not all goals are always going to be that clean. There’s a lot of different ways you can score goals, but this was all the way from the back in the build-up, involving players and verticality in the attack. I think the detail of Mariona’s pass is so good, and we know how fast Liv is in behind. She’s clinical when she’s in front of goal, and she did that for us today.”
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It was the speed of the attack that pleased our head coach, as we went from playing on the edge of our own 18-yard box to Smith wheeling away in celebration in a matter of seconds.
“I think we found good balance in the game on when do we go fast and when do we build a longer attack,” she continued. “Also, to see how is the tempo in the game, what do we need, how can we make them tired, how can we settle in the game? There are so many different decisions in when we do what on the pitch. I thought the players were spot on with when to go fast and when to build a little bit longer.”
Renée was keen to highlight the accountability our players took in the dressing room at half-time, demonstrating togetherness to make sure we held onto all three points.
“You should have been there, because you might think that the coaches come in and they gave all the detail,” she explained. “That wasn’t really the case today. Yes, we did as well. We had our part to play, with Aaron (D’Antino) most of the time giving the tactical detail. But the players were so good. They were connecting with each other, aligning with each other, finding the solutions, anticipating what would happen in the second half. They were amazing, so it was really good.
“That’s where we want to get to, because that’s what we believe in. That’s how learning happens, and that’s when engagement is the highest, motivation is high, and ownership is high as well. So that was a really good moment.
“(It’s about) recovery now, straight after the whistle we start thinking about recovery, recharging and then getting ready for Leuven.”
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