Bedford: Disappointing To Concede Early
- LCFC Women were beaten 5-0 by Arsenal at King Power Stadium on Sunday
- Manager Lydia Bedford reacted to their fourth straight reverse in the WSL
- Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema and Tobin Heath all netted for the Gunners
- Own goals from Esmee De Graaf and Ashleigh Plumptre added to the scoreline
It was an uphill battle from the moment Beth Mead’s second minute strike handed the visitors an instant advantage and the Gunners’ dominant start was followed by second-half strikes from Vivianne Miedema and Tobin Heath.
Esmee De Graaf and Ashleigh Plumptre were credited with own goals that added further insult to injury for the Foxes, who were defeated for the fourth successive Barclays FA Women’s Super League game.
“I think it’s disappointing to concede so early on in the game again,” City’s manager admitted to LCFC TV. “Obviously, it felt in that moment that we could have a repeat [of last week] on our hands.
“But when we pulled the players in, which we’d spoke about doing when the first goal went in, their message to me was that it was a mistake, and they were ready to go again. They knew what the game plan was, and they showed us, because they then continued to keep it at 1-0 for a large chunk of the game.
“That is a real credit to them, especially in the second half, when Arsenal came out and nearly scored straight away, but you’ve got players putting bodies on the line to stop that happening.”
Still able to gleam some positives from the defeat, the 34-year-old was pleased with how Leicester, without several players through injury, adapted to a change in system, recovering from their initial setback by keeping the title challengers out for over an hour, despite their quality at the top end of the pitch.
Bedford continued: “We changed the formation and they had very limited time to practice that. We had very limited numbers in training to be able to get the exposure to what it might feel like.
“They went out and they believed in what we asked them to do, which is critical, and we tried to make it difficult for Arsenal to play through us. I think for large parts of the game, we really frustrated Arsenal, who are a top team, so we’re pleased with that.
“They know that they are playing against top teams and they want to be able to be competitive against those teams next season. We want to be in a position where these are games that we aren’t fearing, but actually we’re clear on how we want to play, and we hope to be able to cause more problems going forward.
Bedford Reacts To Arsenal Defeat
LCFC Women manager Lydia Bedford shares her post-match thoughts with LCFC TV following a 5-0 reverse against Arsenal.
“But I think right now, where we are, we’ve had a job to do. It’s about trying to keep the players moving forward, we’ve got some big games coming up after Man City that will be critical for us in the race to stay in the WSL.”
Bedford reserved praise for Demi Lambourne on her 11th WSL appearance of the season, after the ‘keeper made a string of impressive saves in the first half to keep Arsenal’s dangerous attack at bay.
She explained: “Demi has been exceptional since she came in earlier in the year and I think for her, she was playing in the shadow of Kirstie [Levell] and then Kirstie picked up an injury and she’s gone on to start every game since, bar when she was unavailable.
“I think you see in her performances every week, she’s growing in character, she’s brave, she’s willing to put herself on the line to try and stop the ball being in the back of the net.”