Following a narrow defeat to London rivals Chelsea, Renée Slegers held a post-match press conference.
Our head coach faced questions about how close the game was, the penalty decision and how we'll bounce back from only her first loss in charge.
Here is everything she had to say:
on the contest and our performance...
I think it was a top game in women’s football so I think, overall, if I distance myself from my role, I think it was good for women’s football. I think from the end we had to get through that first period of the game, the first 10 minutes. We knew Chelsea was going to come out fast and get in behind us and come forward, that’s what they did, they’re very powerful, so I'm happy the girls go through that period of the game, and then I think we start to establish ourselves in the game, we take over more and more control and I think we play the game that we want to play even though a little bit sloppy maybe, more than what we usually would be, but I think we played some really good football at times. What was lacking today was the goals, I think we created one or two good enough chances to score today and you know you’re not going to get a lot against Chelsea. So, for next time, be a little bit more clinical with the chances and we knew it was going to be very tight today with the small margins and details that matter.
on playing Kyra Cooney-Cross on the right side of the midfield...
So it was how we wanted to press them and playing Kyra and Kim [Little] to their strengths and connected to what we needed in the game today and they both have different qualities so I think they both did well in their roles in our pressing structure today.
on the penalty decision...
It’s obviously very hard to see from the sideline. Seen some footage, and what I can see there is that Kim gets to the ball first. But it’s not on me to comment more on that. So I think what we could’ve done better, if we look at ourselves and I think that’s all I can control and most classy, is that we should’ve positioned ourselves better behind the ball to stop the counter-attack from happening.
on Katie McCabe’s red card...
I think it was words between Katie and the referee but I don’t know the details. I haven’t spoken to Katie yet so I don’t know the details.
on what we can take from the match...
I think we’re improving as a team, definitely, how we handle different phases of the game, I think we do that better and better, we’re psychologically in a stage where we can stay in the game whatever happens in the game and I think that’s important in top games like this, So I’m very happy with that development and if I could play the game again today, I would play the game again because I think we are good enough to do more against Chelsea. So, if we had been more clinical with the chances, I think we can definitely measure ourselves with them so we’re disappointed with the result.
on how close we pushed Chelsea…
I think we're improving as a team, definitely in how we handle different phases of the game. I think we do that better and better, and that we're psychologically in a state where we can stay in the game, whatever happens in the game. I think that's important in top games like this. So I'm very happy with that development and if I could play the game again today, I would want to play the game again, because I think we are good enough to do more against Chelsea. So if we'd been more clinical with the chances, I think we can definitely measure us with them. So we're disappointed with the loss.
on the fine margins that separate us and Chelsea…
Yeah, it's small details. And you know with Chelsea, what their strengths are. They're going to be very powerful and fast going forward. And every little chance they get, they will take. I think that's the biggest strength of them as a team. So you have to be on your toes the whole game, and you have to be concentrating. And that's what happened today. So one little chance. Otherwise, I think they have their chances at the start of the game, but then, after that, it's a lot of shots from further areas. So I don't think they were so dangerous. So no, I think I would want to play the game again if I could as soon as possible.
on whether we can still win the title…
Well, of course, there are 10 points now between us, and that's going to be a much bigger mountain to climb. We are very aware of that but we also say, we had our slips at the start of the season. You never know when other teams are going to slip. So what we want to do is just keep on playing our games and winning our games, and that's all we can do. But yeah, we knew it was important for us if we wanted to keep sparks in the title race to win today, and we didn't do that. But yeah, you never know what the future holds again.
on her first loss in charge…
I'm very happy with the run so far, not having lost the game. I think that says something about where we’re at as a team. I just think we played against a top team today, we played a very tight game and it was going to go one way or the other. Could have been an 0-0 game as well or a 1-1 game. So I think we have a strong enough foundation. I feel that and I think the players feel that as well. This happened, but that doesn't define us. Of course, I'm very disappointed. I wanted to win today, and I think we were close enough to get something out of the game, but then we will have to move on from here.
on Caitlin Foord’s withdrawal in the first half…
She hasn't played much in the last week. She's had some problems with the muscle and she was clear to play today. She felt good and she wanted to. I think she contributed really well with her minutes on the pitch. I think she did very well, but then she started to feel something, and she said, I think someone else should come on and do it, because we need 100% players on the pitch against Chelsea.
on the conditions today...
We knew it was going to be a physical battle on the pitch. The girls were up for it. You can never decide the conditions of the games and those were the ones we played in today. It wasn’t as bad as against Bayern Munich at Borehamwood! The pitch was fine. Loads of positives from this game to be honest, how we manage ourselves through different phases of the game. We do a lot of good things on the ball, our pressing was very good at times. There are a lot of things we do well but it’s about ruthlessness and not allowing any chances to the opposition and being clinical. We could’ve scored today if you look at the chances. We make steps and the girls feel the same. We want to play Chelsea again soon.
on van Domselaar and Cooney-Cross...
They are very important players for us. What Kyra does really well is always find a good position to be able to play forward and then she has a lot of quality on the ball with long passes, dribbles and carries. She’s been very important for us. She’s grown so much as a player and person. Daphne can decide games, she’s done that before and made some really important saves today.
on Katie’s sending off...
I’ll have to talk to her but am I disappointed with Katie? No, I wouldn’t say that. She’s developed so much as a person in staying calm and finding the right levels to be at her best. I think she’s done that over time. I’ll talk to her and find out exactly what happened and the details of the situation.
on if there should be VAR in women’s football...
The stakes are getting higher in women’s football so I think we need that in the game. I also think it’s important that the game is attractive to fans. VAR slows down the game and gives it more breaks. With time that will probably develop. It would be good for us to have VAR.
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