Beard Report: "If You Can't Win Them Then You've Got To Make Sure You Get A Point"
Today at 04:00 PM
The Liverpool manager gives his assessment following the opening match of the Super League campaign against Leicester City.
The time has finally come - the Women's Super League is back! Liverpool Women played host to Leicester City to start their season against the Foxes at their new home of St. Helen's Stadium. Unfortunately after opening the scoring in the last minutes of the first half from Sophie Roman Haug, Leicester found an equalizer after the restart and neither one was able to find a winner.
"We should have been out of sight in the first half, we've missed some really clear-cut chances. We could have had the game put to bed. And all the time they're still in it, it gives them a little bit of confidence to try to get something out of the game," Matt Beard said following the match.
"I felt we were sloppy at times, I thought we dropped our standards, especially in the last 10 or 15 minutes of the first half; sloppy passing, putting ourselves under pressure.
I think it's definitely two points dropped because we were in complete control of it, great chances we created. And the goal we conceded was unforgivable – two passes and the ball is in the back of our net. Switched off from a free-kick, not switched on, not got back into position. We said at half-time things like that happen if you switch off for that split-second, that's what can happen and obviously it has proved to be right."
A draw is still a point on the board versus none, so there are still positives to take from the match. Creating chances is important, and Liverpool certainly did a lot of that, so there is still plenty to celebrate from what ended up as a disappointing outing. It was also a chance for new signings Gemma Evans and Olivia Smith to make their marks on the squad, and they impressed with the time they were given.
"Of course we are [frustrated] because we have created the chances to win the game. The positives are we've got a point on the board; if you can't win them then you've got to at least make sure you get a point," Beard continued.
"Obviously we have scored off a set-play, I felt we should have scored in open play. And I felt we had some really good passing passages at times. But it's consistency.
"As I've said before, we've had a bit of an up-and-down pre-season and we've still got players finding their feet. If you look at Gemma Evans, defensively she was excellent but she just didn't see the pictures quick enough in the first half when we could have either gone through or gone round. But it's going to take her time to understand that.
"Jas [Matthews] has obviously worked with me for a long time now, it's her fourth season here back with me, so that was the reason behind that change. Then we changed the system at the back end just to try to get a bit of pace up front just to try to stretch them, but obviously it didn't work out."
The Women's Super League is a long, physical season so coming out of this match without any injuries is another positive to take, and Beard encouraged everyone to look at the bigger picture of the campaign. Disappointments like these are bound to happen.
"It's disappointing we've not won the game today but if you can't win them you at least make sure you get a point. It's the first game of many," the manager explained.
"If I look at the Chelsea-Villa game the other day, Aston Villa must have been devastated to walk away with absolutely nothing. I actually think they deserved to win it. There's no easy games in this division. We have to learn from their goal and make sure when we do create the chances, we finish them."
