We’ll Take Heart From United Display, Says Bedford
- LCFC Women manager Lydia Bedford reacts to narrow Man Utd defeat
- The Foxes were beaten 1-0 by the WSL league leaders on Sunday
- Nikita Parris’ first-half goal was the difference at King Power Stadium
- Bedford was pleased with many aspects of City’s overall performance
- City now turn attention back to the Continental Tyres League Cup
England forward Nikita Parris scored the only goal of the game at King Power Stadium on Sunday as the visitors continued their 100 per cent record in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
As for Leicester, they had nothing to show for their efforts for the fifth successive WSL match, leaving the team bottom of the table at this early stage of the season. However, the manager identified several positives from how they performed in front of a season-high crowd on Filbert Way of 4,007.
“I was pleased with the squad’s performance throughout the game,” she told LCFC TV in her post-match interview. “I felt our gameplan worked and we tweaked it as the game went on to really try and minimalise the threats that United had.
Highlights - LCFC Women 0 Manchester United Women 1
Extended highlights from LCFC Women's Barclays Women's Super League clash with Manchester United on Filbert Way.
“That led to a 1-0 game where they’ve scored from a set play, which we’re disappointed about, but ultimately, really proud of the performance across 90 minutes. We hoped we’d get more from it, but we didn’t.
“At times in the second half, the way that we possessed the ball, and moved it around Man Utd into those wide areas, was exceptional, so we can take great confidence from that and that we’ll grow and keep evolving.
“It’s probably the biggest thing we were disappointed about against Man City – we didn’t possess the ball enough. For them to go out in the second half and produce that performance is fantastic and it just gives us more momentum going into the Reading game next week.”
With only one goal during the opening five league fixtures, a lot of Bedford’s focus has been on being more potent in the final third, but without the likes of Shannon O’Brien (injured) and Carrie Jones (ineligible) in attack, City seemed to lack a cutting edge in front of goal when up against Marc Skinner’s side.
The 35-year-old explained: “In today’s game, it was just about relaxing when we got into the final third. I think having played Man City last week and not got into the final third that much, it was almost like we were rushing in those final moments.
“When probably all we had to do was calm down, put our foot on the ball and start again. Every time we switched it, we created problems. There will be some really important bits for us to reflect on in that.
“But if we weren’t creating opportunities, I’d be far more worried. So, we’ve just got to make sure that we take confidence in those areas and start to slot the ball in the back of the net.”
Bedford Pleased With The Performance
Post-match reaction to the narrow defeat to Manchester United from LCFC Women manager Lydia Bedford.
The Foxes face Liverpool in the Continental Tyres League Cup at Pirelli Stadium on Wednesday evening (7pm BST kick-off), and the busy schedule continues with a trip to tackle Reading back in the WSL on Sunday (2pm GMT kick-off).
She added: “I think the main priority for the League Cup is to be as competitive as we can, while rotating the squad and giving players who maybe haven’t got as much game time in the league an opportunity to perform.
“We won’t underestimate or not focus on that game, we’ll prepare the players that are going to step out onto the pitch in the same way we would every WSL game.
"But ultimately, the league is our biggest focus and making sure that our players are fresh to put on a performance against Reading on Sunday is our number one priority.”