ReactionMatt Beard on LFC Women 3-1 West Ham, Kiernan, top-four chase and more
Liverpool FC Women manager Matt Beard drew a long list of positives from his side's 3-1 victory over West Ham United in the Barclays Women's Super League on Sunday.
Efforts from Leanne Kiernan, Missy Bo Kearns and Sophie Roman Haug gave the Reds their third successive league win and the perfect response to last weekend's Adobe Women's FA Cup exit.
Kiernan opened the scoring at Prenton Park close to half-time with her first goal of the season, before Kearns and Roman Haug added to the hosts' lead after the break.
Riko Ueki pulled one back for the Hammers late on but Beard's team stood firm to remain level on points with fourth-placed Manchester United in the WSL standings.
Read on for the boss' post-match assessment…
On Ceri Holland and Kiernan coming back into the starting XI...
We felt crosses in the box would be the way that we would win the game. From that side, we were pleased that we've obviously got goals from crosses today. Leanne's been very, very patient. Mia Enderby took her opportunity. But I've got some proper headaches up there, which I think is great to have.
On the building partnership between Kiernan and Roman Haug...
I thought Sophie's performance today was outstanding. For me, that second centre-forward has been a bit of a puzzle to solve for us this year. Leanne's getting stronger and stronger each week and I'm pleased that she's got her goal because I know that was on her mind. She can just relax now and be herself.
On conceding at the end of the game...
There goes her [Rachael Laws] clean-sheet bonus! We gifted them three opportunities like that today. We had one with Jas Matthews, one with Grace Fisk and then obviously Lawsy's one we got punished for that. We need to cut that out because it's frustrating and then six minutes goes up and a game that you're in complete control of we then have to put ourselves in a silly position. The mistake wasn't meant but it was made and we've got to make sure we just don't make them again.
On the top-four hunt...
I think what we've done already is a huge achievement. We're just enjoying the moment. Arsenal obviously getting beat the other night means we're three points closer to them. We have aspirations to finish as high up this league as we can. It'd be great to finish fourth but it'd be even better if we finished third. We'll just keep trying to pick up as many points as we can. We're in a good position at the moment but we've just got to keep picking points up.
On Kiernan scoring...
It's the best thing that's come out of today. Things like that, setback after setback, this is actually the best Leanne Kiernan I've ever seen on a football pitch. A lot of that is from watching different players, like [Katie] Stengel, [Shanice] van de Sanden. If I look at her game-understanding now, it's the best it's ever been. I love the girl to pieces. I remember when I met her as an 18-year-old when I was actually at West Ham and you look at the player and person she has developed and turned into, it's so pleasing to see.
On Holland having a role in all three goals...
I said to her at the end that the two weeks of rest has done her well! It's funny because I look at Ceri when she goes on international duty, physically her output is massive every week. She does a different job internationally because she plays wide. We missed her in the team. We miss her physicality, we miss her strength, if you look at the way she moves the opposition. She was outstanding today.
On next weekend's Merseyside derby...
We're in good form at the moment and our away form is good as well, so we're looking forward to the Merseyside derby.