We Came Up Against A Top Team, Says Bedford

- LCFC Women were defeated 4-0 by Manchester United on Saturday
- Manager Lydia Bedford assessed the performance following full-time
- The Red Devils scored two goals in each half at Leigh Sports Village
- Martha Thomas, Alessia Russo and Katie Zelem (2) were on target

Martha Thomas broke the deadlock on 16 minutes and from that moment on the hosts were in control at Leigh Sports Village, adding a second when Alessia Russo converted Ella Toone’s cross on the half-hour mark. A brace from Katie Zelem inside four second-half minutes – both scored directly from corners – ensured it would be United who secured the points.

Leicester remain 11th in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League with the defeat ending a two-game winning run that has moved the Foxes eight points clear of the relegation zone under Bedford’s stewardship.  

“It was a tough afternoon,” she admitted to LCFC TV. “Man Utd are a very good team. We knew that coming into it. They’ve got top players, we knew what problems they pose for us and I think it’s probably credit to our players, they’d done their research and they’d set up really well to try and contain some of our threats today.

“I’m really pleased to say that they did that, and I think for us it was a great opportunity to evolve and adapt and we did that. We tweaked a few little things during the game to help us, which I think did help because after that first 15 minutes, the next three goals were set plays.

“We know how important set plays are because week by week we use them to an advantage and there’s a lesson there around avoiding giving them away but ultimately, we’re playing teams like Man Utd so we are going to concede some and how we deal with those corners is critical. If they go straight in, there’s not a great deal we can do about it.”

Reflecting on her time in charge of the team, which began shortly after the Foxes last played Man Utd in the Continental Tyres League Cup in early December, the ex-England international youth coach is positive about the progress made in terms of performances, results and league position.

She explained: “I think we’ve made massive strides in the last few months. When I went back this week and had a little look back through that game from three months ago, I think the style of football we played at that point was one that, when you’re playing top teams, can grind you out a result.

“We were really compact, we were really deep, we made it hard for them to play through us, but the team has evolved since then and the style of football we want to play isn’t one where we want to turn up to games like this just wanting to defend the game.

“We want to actually test ourselves to try and play football and play through the thirds, which today we didn’t do as well as we might have done in previous games. That probably shows where we are and helps us to go away and reflect and build and go forward.”

After a first defeat in three league games, City’s manager is focused on looking ahead to focusing on the remainder of the campaign, which continues with another away trip to face Everton at Walton Hall Park on Saturday (5:30pm GMT kick-off).

The 34-year-old added: “What’s great for us in the next month is that we play two or three really top teams and it’s going to really test us as a group and hopefully we can grow from today’s performance.

“Next week’s game against Everton is one where we can build on some of the positives that we showed today. In terms of our possession, I think there were some individual bits in the first half where we needed to be a bit better with our details. We spoke about that at half-time.

“So, it’s about making sure that we’re ready for that next week, because when we take care of our details, we’re a good team, so I think it’s just building on that.”