Bedford: Focus Turns Towards The Weekend
- LCFC Women defeated 4-0 by Liverpool at Pirelli Stadium on Wednesday
- Missy Bo Kearns, Rhiannon Roberts, Rachel Furness and Katie Stengel all scored
- The Continental Tyres League Cup is not the priority, according to Lydia Bedford
- It was a valuable learning experience for the youngsters involved, she added
The much-changed Foxes side were heavily beaten at Pirelli Stadium, with strikes from Missy Bo Kearns, Rhiannon Roberts, Rachel Furness and Katie Stengel the difference between the teams on Wednesday evening.
While acknowledging that it was not a full-strength Leicester XI, which included starts for Academy players Monique Robinson and Mackenzie Smith, the manager felt they could have done more to prevent the goals.
She told LCFC TV after full-time: “I don’t think we were anywhere near our best tonight. Two of the goals in the first half are from set plays and we don’t like conceding those. There’s much more we can do to stop conceding.
“We knew their throw-ins were going to be a threat. They scored directly from a corner, but we’re more disappointed at the goals we’ve conceded from open play.
“Ultimately as a team, we didn’t perform to the level that we’d liked to have done. But the whole point of tonight was to rotate, give our players a chance and be as fresh as possible for this Sunday. So, with everything considered, we’re hopefully in a good place going into the weekend.”
The away side caused a lot of problems from set pieces and open play, whereas City struggled to create meaningful opportunities in the final third and were limited to long range shots and speculative efforts.
With first appearances after injury for goalkeeper Demi Lambourne and centre-back Abbie McManus, who both came through 90 minutes unscathed, the pool of players Bedford has to pick from is increasing, which is vital as the Foxes search for their first Barclays Women’s Super League win of the season.
The 35-year-old explained: “We were against a team that played really direct football and that takes the football out of it. You’ve got to deal with big, long balls and deal with first and second contacts, which we didn’t do good enough. That’s something we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to deal with next time we play them.
“Given the number of young players that we had on the pitch tonight, but also the players that haven’t played as much just coming back and getting game time, they’re maybe not as sharp as others.
“It’s great to see Lambourne back on the pitch tonight. Obviously, it’s the first time she’s been in goal for a while, so there’s some things that she’ll now grow into and be able to do the more opportunities she gets.
“Abbie McManus, it was her first time on the pitch this season. Again, it’s a really key opportunity for a lot of players that have had really minimal game time.
We Didn't Hit The Required Level, Says Bedford
Manager Lydia Bedford's Continental Tyres League Cup reaction following defeat to Liverpool at Pirelli Stadium.
“The priority is getting three points at the weekend against Reading and we need to do that.”
That game against the Royals – a 2pm GMT kick-off at Select Car Leasing Stadium in four days' time – will see two teams without a WSL point go head-to-head.
“Particularly the midweek games – this one and the one against Sunderland near Christmas – we’ve said all along they’re about us making sure that we’re fresh for the league game to follow that,” she added. “We then play Liverpool in the league after Sunderland and that game will be the priority.
“You’ll see that reflected in all of our League Cup games this season because my job is to make sure that this team is in the best position to perform in the WSL games. The focus has been on Reading this week and we’re really looking forward to playing that game.
“I’m excited to see what the players produce this weekend.”