ColumnGareth Taylor on West Ham loss, Matt Beard WSL tribute and Man City test
It was a frustrating day last Sunday. We didn't get off to a good start, conceding early, and then we were always on the back foot.
We weren't as aggressive enough, like we normally have been, and we were second in the duels and just allowed West Ham to gain territory.
We conceded a really poor goal as we didn't attack the ball well enough from their corner and from then on we gave ourselves an uphill battle.
Jennifer Falk made a good save to keep us in the game and it was only after half-time that we started to get into the game really.
I said to the players we had to be better in our duels, it's a simple fact of football that you are not going to win any game if you are not able to compete, run, sprint and win duels.
I made some changes and we gradually progressed without really carving out a clear-cut chance.
I didn't want to have to take Ceri Holland off the pitch but she has been nursing a hamstring injury recently, which is why she didn't go away with Wales.
So, as much as I wanted to keep her on because she always has the potential to get us a goal, you run the risk of losing her for upcoming games and we didn't want to do that.
The bonus for us is she had no reaction and we can now keep her fit for the final few games of this season.
You will have noticed Denise O'Sullivan has had to play with a strapping on her leg recently and it's an issue she has had for a period of time, but to be fair she manages it well.
Anna Josendal is also getting stronger and she will benefit from more minutes on the pitch.
She was good when she came on and looked lively in moments and hopefully we can now give her that playing time going forward.
We have a couple of tough games left in the WSL this season, starting with Sunday's trip to Manchester City.
We'll go there with our normal way of playing and try to be aggressive - far more aggressive than we were against West Ham.
I know it must have been very frustrating for our fans to watch when they saw us second-best in all of the duels and we have to put that right in this game to give ourselves a chance to be successful.
There is plenty to work on and it's a little setback after the positive run that we have been on, but we are really honest in our appraisals and our reviews and we'll be working hard this week to put things right.
It was also fantastic to see Matt Beard inducted into the Barclays Women's Super League Hall of Fame.
Matt's spirit lives on and we are still coming to terms with Matt sadly no longer being with us.
I think for Matt to be inducted says a lot what he did for the women's game. It's a nice tribute to him and something that will always remain - I think it's a good move from the WSL to do that.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support.
YNWA,
Gareth
Gareth Taylor was speaking to Liverpoolfc.com's Steve Hunter
