Kirk: Not Good Enough On The Ball
- LCFC Women were beaten 3-1 by Manchester United on Thursday evening
- Lucía García, Lisa Naalsund and Katie Zelem scored against Leicester
- Aileen Whelan netted her second goal of the season at Leigh Sports Village
- It’s one to learn from and quickly move on from, says Willie Kirk
Leicester fell to their first defeat in this season's competition after goals from Lucía García, Lisa Naalsund and Katie Zelem at Leigh Sports Village.
In his post-match interview, Kirk outlined his disappointment with the performance, but gave credit to the hosts who he felt looked the better side.
“It’s really frustrating to concede so early because it gives you a mountain to climb,” the Manager explained. “We were stretched in terms of numbers, with four or five injuries at the moment, but we worked our way back into the game.
“We went in to half-time, thinking we were in a place where we could affect the game, but the third goal is crucial and put it out of sight.
“Man Utd are very good at breaking with pace, so it got to the point where they didn’t need to attack anymore and they could wait for you to make the mistake and exploit the space.
“I thought Man Utd deserved the three points and it’s another one from us to learn from and quickly move on to Sunday.”
City did break the Red Devils down in the first half when Aileen Whelan picked up on a loose pass and chipped Phallon Tullis-Joyce to half the deficit before the break.
Even though it didn’t spark the comeback that he wanted, Kirk was pleased for his captain to get on the scoresheet for a second time this term, with both goals coming at Leigh Sports Village.
“It was a great finish from Aileen [Whelan],” the 45-year-old continued. “She had another chance just before half-time where we thought it was going to be a carbon copy. It proves that when we got the press right, we caused them problems, but we never did it right enough times.
“We were disappointed that when we turned the ball over, we never kept hold of it well enough. It was never good enough and we gave the ball away cheaply; it never gave us a chance to affect the game the way we wanted to.
“We changed shape tonight because of the personal that was available to us tonight and went with a diamond in midfield which we got success from last year, but this is the first time this group has played it which could have affected the fluidity of this performance.”
City have scored against every opponent they have faced across 2023/24 and have only failed to find the net in one game this campaign; a revelation on last season’s statistics. The Manager hopes his side can maintain this heading into the weekend when they take on West Ham United.
Kirk added: “I believe that’s 19 goals we’ve scored this year in 12 games, which is a far cry from last season. We’re a little bit open at the back but I’d rather be a goalscoring threat and work on how we get countered.
“Being able to always score is a huge threat to carry and now it’s just about tidying up at the back. We look towards this weekend which is a big game for us. We’re looking forward to finishing the year at King Power Stadium and it’s time we gave the fans three points.”