ReactionMatt Beard on Sunderland win, squad depth, international break and more
Matt Beard expressed his satisfaction at Liverpool FC Women's all-round display in the 1-0 win at Sunderland in the Continental Tyres League Cup on Sunday.
The Reds got off to a winning start in the competition by taking all three points from the Group B opener through Megan Campbell's free-kick in the 22nd minute.
The visitors controlled the affair in all phases as goalkeeper Eartha Cumings kept a clean sheet on her competitive debut for the club.
Read on for Beard's post-match interview with Liverpoolfc.com...
On his assessment of the win...
I was pleased. It was good, first of all, to keep a clean sheet. Second, I thought we controlled the game pretty much with the ball, created numerous chances [and] on another day maybe we could've got a few more. But it was good to bounce back from the performance against Everton at Anfield. We won today with a clean sheet but I was really pleased with the work ethic of the team, just getting back to basics and doing the right things. As I said, we've created probably three or four really good chances today, converted one, not quite taken the others – but the most important thing is we've created.
On handing minutes to players who haven't had many so far this season...
Like I said at the start of the week to the players, it's an opportunity now in training, shirts are up for grabs because we didn't put in what our normal performance levels are, especially without the ball with the work ethic, etc. But from my perspective, Carla's got good minutes into her, Furney's got good minutes into her, Robey has as well. Obviously congratulations to Eartha on her debut – I thought she was excellent today. So, there's loads of positives to take. This is a tough place to come. Sunderland are a tough team to play against, they're organised, they're physical but I felt we dealt really well with that today.
On Cumings' debut and the goalkeeping group at the club...
We've got a great group there. And obviously Clarkey's out on loan as well and she's with us three times a week. They're all pushing each other. I think the great thing is, the one thing that you want as a manager is to have headaches with team selection. Earthy and Lawsy are really pushing each other well. Faye has come in and been a great addition, she's going to be a talented goalkeeper. And when Clarkey's in, she's pushing as well – you can see her game experience translating into the training as well. That group's done fantastic and Joe Potts is doing a great job with them.
On using the international break with the players that are staying...
We've got a good group staying, which gives us a real good opportunity to work on a few bits. We'll obviously keep the group motivated, we'll keep working hard in training. We can really focus on our play, especially with the players that we've got staying behind. We've pretty much got the front three, pretty much got the backline and the wing-backs that will still be here, so we can get some good work in.