‘They’re Structured & Brave On The Ball’ – Kirk’s Analysis Of Everton
Leicester have the chance to bounce back from a tricky result last weekend, where a single goal from Rachel Daly was the difference against Aston Villa, when they face Everton in their final game of Group B in the League Cup.
With the prospect of progression to the knockout stages still alive, City will be giving it everything they have to ensure they make it through as a group runner-up.
The Toffees stand in their way of doing that, and in a pre-match interview, the 45-year-old Manager told LCFC.com he is relishing to chance to make amends come Wednesday.
The Villa loss
Last Friday’s defeat was only the second time this season that the Foxes have failed to score, but plenty of key chances and work with the ball were positives from a game which Kirk believes his side must take with a pinch of salt.
“It was a patchy display,” the Manager outlined. “There’s been elements of the performance that we’re pleased with, and others that we’re frustrated with. In terms of goals expected, we should’ve won the Aston Villa game, but we know it’s not based on that.
“We do create good goalscoring opportunities, but we need to learn to take them, and we missed too many big opportunities on Friday otherwise we would’ve taken points from the game.”
New signings
During the winter transfer window, Leicester have already reinforced their ranks with the double addition of Saori Takarada, and Yuka Momiki, who made her first start for the Club against the Villans, after registering two assists on her debut against Derby County.
The pair have fitted in well with the team and will be key figures in the set-up going forward, as they look to have an exciting second half of the season.
“They’ve settled in well on the pitch, and really well off the pitch,” Kirk continued. “Both are really nice girls, really approachable and have made themselves part of the group already.
“You can see their qualities on the pitch already, and they’ll only get better the more that they settle in to the team, with the style of play.
“They’re big players for our future, and we think they’ll be very important to us and how we want to play, so we're delighted to have them here and fitting in with the team.”
Facing Everton
This coming week sees Leicester in action twice, both times against the same opponent. Everton, who currently sit bottom of Group B, and without a point in the competition, are already out of this year’s League Cup, but Kirk expects a difficult game, nonetheless.
He added: “I know how Everton play, they’re very structured. But within that structure, there’s a lot of little movements and interaction with each other and I know they spend a lot of time focusing on the build of play.
“They’re very brave at that, continually trying to play out from the back and find solutions. They are not that easy a team to prepare for because they have got lots of little tweaks, and players move in and out of position.
“We’ll just be prepared for it in terms of how we want to play and hopefully take three points, which is what we know we need to have the chance to qualify as one of the best second placed teams.
“The rest is out of our hands, so we just need to focus on that. We’ve not thought too much on Sunday yet, but we will make minimal changes on Wednesday to ensure we have a strong line-up, and then the weekend will take care of itself.”