LFC WomenMatt Beard reaction: 'That was a big three points for us - I'm delighted'
Liverpool FC Women manager Matt Beard was delighted by his team's fightback from a goal down to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the Barclays Women's Super League on Sunday.
Against the run of play, Rosella Ayane gave the away side the lead at Prenton Park before Emma Koivisto equalised with her first goal for the club.
Missy Bo Kearns then netted the decisive effort following superb work from Fuka Nagano and Koivisto.
The victory saw Beard’s charges consolidate eighth place in the WSL, five points ahead of Spurs and seven points clear of the relegation spot.
Read on as Beard reflects on the win...
On a big three points for the team…
I thought we were excellent, especially in the first half. I thought we absolutely dominated it with and without the ball. We should have had the game sewn up at half-time. We had two really good chances to go in front, didn’t take them, and they had one opportunity and scored to go 1-0 up. But I thought we were excellent. It was a pressure game and I thought we showed a resilient side to us in that second half.
I thought Katie Stengel was outstanding leading the line and Rachael Laws, especially in the second half, was outstanding. Ceri Holland has just crawled up the stairs after the amount of work she put in out there. It was a good team performance and I’m delighted. It’s a big three points for us.
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On the great character shown by his side after going a goal down…
Especially as I think it’s 80 or 90 per cent of the games when you go behind in the WSL, you don’t win. We should have been 2-0 or 3-0 up before they scored but I’m really pleased.
On Koivisto’s spectacular deflected goal…
Emma had flu symptoms on Tuesday but she is a warrior, she doesn’t stop running. She deserved that and I also felt we deserved a bit of luck as well, if I look at the goals we conceded at Arsenal the other night when two deflections fell to their players. So we deserved the luck on that goal. I thought Fuka was excellent for our second goal, just the way she slowed it down and played the pass to Emma. That was a great, well-worked goal for us.
On battling well to get the win after eight minutes of stoppage time…
Robey’s [Leighanne Robe] deflection at the end was such an important block for us. I was surprised it was eight minutes but it is what it is.
On Nagano’s display…
Robey said on the bus the other day that she is the best signing Liverpool FC Women have ever made. What she meant by that was her personality, because it is unbelievable. We are starting to see her come out of her shell a little bit. She is just a technician. Some of the things she does with the ball, she creates so much for us. She is a great person and a wonderful football player. She is only 24 and is only going to get better. It’s exciting for Liverpool.
On an heroic display at the back from Gemma Bonner…
Bonn has been brilliant. She was restricted to 45 minutes at Arsenal but she could play the full game for us. She is a leader and I know what I’m going to get from Gemma. I’ve worked with her for so long now. From her experience to some of the tackles she puts in, the way she organises and leads the team, she’s fantastic.
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