ReactionGareth Taylor on FA Cup win over Everton, Mia Enderby injury, quarter-final draw and more
Read Gareth Taylor’s post-match reaction after Liverpool beat Everton 2-1 in round five of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.
First-half goals by Mia Enderby and Beata Olsson were enough for the Reds to defeat the Blues in a Merseyside derby at St Helens Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Taylor’s side will therefore be involved in Monday evening’s draw for the quarter-finals and post-match, the head coach spoke to Channel 4 about his team’s performance, the injury that forced Enderby to be stretchered off immediately after scoring and more.
See his reaction in full below.
On what pleased him most about the performance…
The second half. I didn’t think we were great first half if I’m being honest. We were happy to be 2-0 at half-time, I’ll be honest. I didn’t even know that Mia had scored the first goal, I thought it had gone behind, and obviously a blow to lose her because we had to restructure a few things and Beata did well on the right side but we know it’s not a favoured position. But I was just really pleased with the second-half performance and the way we fought, showed some quality at times and obviously it was a bit tense at the end but the FA Cup is always like that.
On how pleased he was with the mentality of his team to get the result over the line after Everton’s goal…
Really pleased. I think the group give a lot, I think they’re really humble in what they want to do and they’re really honest and they are really open to learning and getting better. We’ve had a lot of tough moments this season, things that have gone against us on and off the pitch have been really tough and you can see now that we’re starting to come into a little bit more confidence, a little bit more fight and endeavour and that’s what the FA Cup is all about. You have to earn it and we certainly did towards the end. But the players were nervy, you could feel that, which is natural. You can’t ignore it and we’re nervy on the sidelines as well with 15 to go.
On Enderby’s injury, which she sustained in the act of scoring the opening goal...
I just spoke to her briefly then, she kind of felt like a kneecap popped out of place… nothing’s great, obviously, in the knee area, but the first thing you think about is what everyone talks about [an ACL injury]. But hopefully she seems to be OK. We could have done without that, if we’re honest, because we didn’t have Alice [Bergstrom] today, and hopefully she won’t be too far away. But I think it just limited us a little bit with our options from the sidelines.
On getting through to the quarter-finals…
Really pleased. I think it was about getting the job done today. Of course, you want a good performance and there were elements of our play that were really good. But again, it’s about the win and against your local rivals, we suffered at the hands of them at the beginning of the season - which I thought was a bit harsh, the scoreline on us - and today the girls deserve that.
On which team he wants to get in the last-eight draw…
An easier one would be nice! But I just feel here at St Helens, it’s great because we have the fans behind us. A home tie would be nice but let’s see.
On the home support helping to get the team over the line…
Definitely, because they’ve had a tough time this season, they’ve not had too much to cheer about, particularly in the first half of the season. And now we’re building, we’ve improved on and off the pitch and I think the future is bright. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, we’re not kidding ourselves. We are a work in progress but what you have got is a bunch of girls that are really honest and want to improve and get better.