We Deserved The Points, Says Kirk
- LCFC Women beat Liverpool 1-0 in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Sunday
- Hannah Cain scored the only goal at Prenton Park
- The Foxes now have six points and are one away from safety
- Kirk explained how hard work pays off after a massive win for City
Welsh striker Hannah Cain netted 10 minutes into the match in what would turn out to be the only goal of the game as Leicester picked up their fourth win of the 2022/23 campaign.
Keeping the Reds at bay for 90 minutes resulted in the Foxes picking up their second WSL clean sheet in three games, however Kirk explained how the win wasn’t a comfortable one.
“It’s a big three points, we achieved what we set out to do,” the manager told LCFC TV. “I don’t think it was pretty or that we showed the quality that we wanted to, but we showed a lot of fight and resilience, and based on that we deserved the three points.
“For me, the most important thing is that the players felt and have seen that they can win games, without being at their best quality. Hard work gets you a lot of places.
“We’ve rode our luck the whole fixture. The original game (back in December) was called off when we were struggling for bodies, and we said at the time, that game being called off could be a massive turning point in the season, and we’ve capitalised on that today by taking the three points.
“We speak very openly about what luck is at this Club and we’ve always told the players that there isn’t such a thing as good luck. You don’t wish for it, but you earn it, and I think today we earned it.”
Netting so early on, and from a specialised corner routine no less, can sometimes be seen as downfall, but the former Everton manager was pleased to see it pay off.
“The goalkeeping coach has got to take credit for that set piece,” Kirk explained. “It’s very hard to execute, and we managed to pull it off in training yesterday and at that point I thought: 'You do not get that two days in a row!'
“I thought our opportunity was gone, but they did it again and Hannah did it two days in a row. It’s funny because the goal and assist came from one who had their birthday yesterday, and one who had their birthday today!
“Against a top four team, I’d say scoring too early could be a problem, but today I think we’re just a bit disappointed that we showed such a lack of control. As much as we’re delighted with the three points, we’ll take lessons from what we should’ve done better with the ball.
“The possession at times was lacking and we must control space better, so I’d say that we failed to capitalise on scoring that early goal.”
At the start of the New Year, City were seven points adrift, and without a win all season. Now they have six to their name and are only one point behind Reading.
Despite the temptation to look at the standings and relish the reward from their work, the 44-year-old confirmed that his side aren’t focused on the table, and instead on their own targets.
He added: “I’ve been adamant and certain with players and staff that we need to forget about the league table, and what other teams are doing. We’ve got our own league table and objectives, and we’re confident that if we hit those targets, we'll be safe.
“Our only aim this season is to stay up, but we know if we stay up, then there is a very positive trajectory for the Club.”