BWSL 2022/23 Reading v City 6 November Match Thread 14:00 KO.

[cleavers]

Agree totally, a good post - I think the build up play looked much better without Greenwood at centre half to be honest. Recently we've given away many soft goals by the constant passing back and forth to the goalkeeper then looking for a long cross field low percentage pass. Esme was constantly looking to thread the passes between the lines which put us on the front foot. She had a great game and looked very good next to Aleix. Thought Sandy looked composed too.

It's hard to judge against Reading really, they're not great, but it certainly looked far better at the back than recently, we also didn't give the ball away as much as we have been doing, and that was all areas of the pitch, there were still a few stray passes of course, but I thought the signs were very good.

The other thing about Esme was that she seemed to be in charge, something we've also missed recently, Steff has been great for the club, but in the few glimpses we've had this year, it looks to have gone.

 

[Franny Ypres]

BBC football page kept saying Liverpool were ahead even though they were losing to Villa

 

[cleavers]

BBC football page kept saying Liverpool were ahead even though they were losing to Villa

Haha it's hard to be ahead when you lose 1-0.

 

[Franny Ypres]

Haha it's hard to be ahead when you lose 1-0.

Anybody would think the BBC are unable to compute when one of their pet teams is behind..

 

[JRockBlues]

Thought the Greenwood substitution made no sense. If you're going to rotate to give her a rest then why bring her on when the game is already won with another centre half who's had very little game time so far this season sat on the bench next to her. Give Steph the minutes instead or what's the point of having her there.

 

[Bigga]

I thought there were some big improvements today personally, much less going sideways and backwards, more pace and more direct going forwards, less faffing about at the back putting us in danger.

Yes 2 of our goals were own goals, and we should have scored more really, 19 shots doesn't include 2 of our goals, 5 on target.

Stand out players for me, Morgan, made us look more solid at the back, Hasegawa, Hemp, Raso, Casperaj, and Shaw tried very hard and deserved her goal.

I was reflecting on the game and wanted to post but I was a bit busy.

I wasn't sure about Morgan being Capt and I'm still on the fence about it, but she's better than Greenwood, who makes too many errors at the back. Morgan made some amazing through balls along the ground (makes all the difference) that I'd have been purring if Stones, Laporté or De Bruyne would have made!

I have to see her up against more dynamic forwards, though.

I though Raso was terrible today. I'm not sure why she seems better off the bench but, today, her decision making was off. I still think she should start the next game, though.

Hasegawa is, clearly, a natural box-to-box player, but her skill set is needed in the second half of the field where she can thread through passes or latch onto second balls and keep the pressure going forward. She NEEDS to be at the apex of the three in midfield.

As for the overall play, I felt the game flowed better and it felt like a City type match, pressing forward on the front foot. It was just the decision making that was at fault in the final third.

 

[cleavers]

As for the overall play, I felt the game flowed better and it felt like a City type match, pressing forward on the front foot. It was just the decision making that was at fault in the final third.

Yes it flowed much better, I thought we were considerably better.

 

[ame_ha_niwaka_ame]

I wasn't sure about Morgan being Capt and I'm still on the fence about it, but she's better than Greenwood, who makes too many errors at the back. Morgan made some amazing through balls along the ground (makes all the difference) that I'd have been purring if Stones, Laporté or De Bruyne would have made!

I have to see her up against more dynamic forwards, though.

Morgan’s through pass to Blakstad from deep midfield at 88 min was sublime!
She also threaded a great pass to Hemp early in the game at 14 min which would have been a scoring opportunity if Hemp had controlled the ball towards the goal. (It’s the only instance where I thought Hemp could have made a better choice in this game.)

I agree we’ll have to see against stronger opponents, but Morgan is one of my favorite players since I started following the team this season. She has great spacial recognition as seen in the through passes, and she has great first touches enabling her to face up and quickly pass to a wide range of options as the ball is in close control at her feet.

And she can do this with either foot. Just seconds after the aforementioned through pass to Hemp which was from her right foot she made a similar pass to Shaw with her left. She’s completely two-footed that she first played left CB but moved to right CB when Aleixandri was subbed by Greenwood. Also she can run with the ball away from the press when she has to.

About the captaincy I read in the post-match interview that “She’s one of the four captains we have at the Club, chosen by the players. Steph, Alex, Vicky and Esme.”

Edit: I also liked how she celebrated Shaw’s goal with some funny gesture I didn’t understand, seems nice.

 

[ame_ha_niwaka_ame]

Hasegawa is, clearly, a natural box-to-box player, but her skill set is needed in the second half of the field where she can thread through passes or latch onto second balls and keep the pressure going forward. She NEEDS to be at the apex of the three in midfield.

I too would love to see Hasegawa freed to move forward. She’d still be showing up in deeper midfield to assist buildup, as she has the workrate to go box-to-box, as you say. If the CBs can be worked out, currently I’d like to see Morgan tried as holding MF.

Still, regardless of whether Hasegawa plays higher, perhaps along the lines of what some others have pointed out, I think there needs to be better combination between her and the other midfielders and also Casparij.

As the ball is passed to a teammate often Hasegawa’s intent is to quickly get into position as the ball is still moving so that this teammate can do a small lay off, first-touch if possible, which will allow her to receive the ball facing forward in the pocket between markers.

Sometimes I see this happening but more often they’re not on the same wavelength, when it could have been a chance to subsequently make a key play.

 

[Bigga]

Morgan’s through pass to Blakstad from deep midfield at 88 min was sublime!
She also threaded a great pass to Hemp early in the game at 14 min which would have been a scoring opportunity if Hemp had controlled the ball towards the goal. (It’s the only instance where I thought Hemp could have made a better choice in this game.)

I agree we’ll have to see against stronger opponents, but Morgan is one of my favorite players since I started following the team this season. She has great spacial recognition as seen in the through passes, and she has great first touches enabling her to face up and quickly pass to a wide range of options as the ball is in close control at her feet.

And she can do this with either foot. Just seconds after the aforementioned through pass to Hemp which was from her right foot she made a similar pass to Shaw with her left. She’s completely two-footed that she first played left CB but moved to right CB when Aleixandri was subbed by Greenwood. Also she can run with the ball away from the press when she has to.

About the captaincy I read in the post-match interview that “She’s one of the four captains we have at the Club, chosen by the players. Steph, Alex, Vicky and Esme.”

Edit: I also liked how she celebrated Shaw’s goal with some funny gesture I didn’t understand, seems nice.

I too would love to see Hasegawa freed to move forward. She’d still be showing up in deeper midfield to assist buildup, as she has the workrate to go box-to-box, as you say. If the CBs can be worked out, currently I’d like to see Morgan tried as holding MF.

Still, regardless of whether Hasegawa plays higher, perhaps along the lines of what some others have pointed out, I think there needs to be better combination between her and the other midfielders and also Casparij.

As the ball is passed to a teammate often Hasegawa’s intent is to quickly get into position as the ball is still moving so that this teammate can do a small lay off, first-touch if possible, which will allow her to receive the ball facing forward in the pocket between markers.

Sometimes I see this happening but more often they’re not on the same wavelength, when it could have been a chance to subsequently make a key play.

Both posts clear, concise and very well written for the thread.

Excellent work!