Fully agree. Play like that v the rags and they will get beat. Castellan9s is both greedy and awful. Quahabi at left back seems unable to change direction or play the ball forward.Poor second half really, an easy enough win, but 27 shots and 3 goals, same old story, and some of the passing in the second half was woeful.
Thought their goal was a bit of a joke, didn't look a free kick to me, never mind a booking, then a hopeful punt ends up in the net after a strange rebound.
Lets hope we step back up to 3rd best next weekend.We look what we are - the 4th best team in the league.
Lets hope we step back up to 3rd best next weekend.
Dull as ditch water in the second half. Too many passes under-hit or over-hit when the chance of a through ball was sky high. I thought it wasn't a foul ne'er mind a booking. It seems that only Laura Coombs will try a shot from outside the area, and when she does, well . . . . . . . . .! And I think Deyna can't buy a goal if they went down to tuppence each. But three points is three points. S'all that matters in this league for a CL slot.Poor second half really, an easy enough win, but 27 shots and 3 goals, same old story, and some of the passing in the second half was woeful.
Thought their goal was a bit of a joke, didn't look a free kick to me, never mind a booking, then a hopeful punt ends up in the net after a strange rebound.
I think next week will give us a good idea of exactly where this team is. Hopefully the players raise their games and I could see a few big performances. I do worry that when Greenwood is at centre back we play a very negative way - today once again she was nearly caught out in the box by being too passive. I am beginning to think that we should play Esme and Aleix in the middle. I also think that Kelly and Roebuck seem different for us so far this season - Utd's Euro winning players have all played much better for their club side whereas ours -Hemp aside - seem to be not doing so well.3-1 suggests it was a lot closer than it actually was. Their goal came from a free kick that was never a foul (one of a few baffling decisions the officials gave today)
We got into so many good positions, particularly on the wings, and before you know it the ball is back with Roebuck. I'm all for retaining possession, but at times today it was harder to make the backwards passes that they were doing than it was just to go forwards with it.
Ouahabi must have been told she can't pass the ball to anyone but Greenwood, so frustrating at times.
Castellanos did nowt (did she have words with Taylor?) and we looked better IMO with Mace Infront of the back 4 and Hasegawa advanced.
That being said, was about as comfortable as it could be.
Oh, and fair play to the Brighton captain Williams who was great with the kids afterwards!
Feel sorry for anybody sat there in that drafty stadium, they must be bloody freezing.
Yep it was, my wife hates that stadium. If I had a pound for every time she mentions how good it was when the women played in summer I'd be in the executive boxes for games. She's right though!Feel sorry for anybody sat there in that drafty stadium, they must be bloody freezing.
Agree with most of this. The problem is not the skills of the players ( although some are weaker than others) but with the way we play and the general attitude of the support staff. We play sideways or backwards even when it is easier to go forwards. This must be due to instructions from the management which is static and without enthusiasm throughout the whole match. If the manager and support staff gave verbal support and encouragement then the supporters and players would up their game. Being honest, yesterdays game was as dull as dishwater and would not encourage anyone to watch women’s games in the future. Let’s hope that playing at the Etihad next week will give impetus to raise our game (players and management).We were!
A lot of changes since the summer though, plus no Hemp, and I'm actually happy with how they are starting to gel.
We are ten times better than united in terms of being a footballing team, but they will battle and scrap and make things difficult for us. Then they do have some quality if they get the opportunities. If we match them in terms of the battle and stick to passing it round them, we can show we're the better team. That said, we still make mistakes - I thought Brighton should have had a pen in the first minute and Alexandrii made one poor pass that could have caused a goal (though her passing was generally good). We'll need to cut those out.
Thought Castellanos was actually pretty good. Most dangerous looking I've seen her, but things still didn't quite come off. She's due a goal. Hasegawa is just an excellent and clever footballer. Casparii is a better right-back than last season's Lucy Bronze.
Enjoyed the match, though 4 or 5-0 would have been a fairer scoreline and the 2nd half was a slight disappointment.