Women's football news
Written by: Jack
Scott Booth has heaped praise on his players for their strong character on the back of the first win of the season Sunday.
Speaking to us ahead of the game he said: “We’re looking forward to the game, it’s another tough game against a team that’s doing really well.
“For us, we’ve been prepping well all week, the players have done well, taken a lot of information.
“They’re obviously on a bit of a high, when you win games, that’s what happens.”
But on Sunday’s win vs. Watford, Scott definitely felt relief.
“To be honest, they had really deserved three-points by now! We’ve talked a lot about how we’ve always been in games, and it’s by the finest of margins we’ve lost.
“I was really impressed with them because it had been a hard week of two matches, and then going into Watford.
“They showed great stamina, they met all our top athletic targets that were needed, despite having already played a couple of games. Everyone knows we’ve got a small squad so I think they deserve a lot of credit.
“The thing that the team did really well on Sunday was that they stuck to the game-plan, they didn’t let the goal affect it, they knew that they’d still get opportunities and that if they did what we worked on, then it would have a positive outcome.
“We had a couple of chances where we could have made it easier for ourselves, but we kept going until the very end and there was a real belief there.
“So very, very impressed with the players, despite it being a really tough week of games, we came out well.”
Scott was also praising individual performances following the win.
“We were really happy with Emily, and keeping her in the team was no negative towards Sophie because Soph is a fantastic goalkeeper.
“Emily put in a huge performance against Palace and she’s waited calmly in the wings. She’s come in and she’s done really well.
“I felt that momentum was important and I just couldn’t argue with sticking with her for that game. She made some good saves again and did well.
“We’ve worked hard to make sure we have two very good goalkeepers that are competitive for that spot.
“It’s a difficult job because it means there’s real competition there for each other. But you need two ‘keepers you can rely on and we’ve certainly got that.
“It was great for Caragh also to get her first goal on Sunday, she got herself high up the pitch. She’s been playing full-back for us the last three or four weeks, and more naturally she’s a player that plays further forward than that.
“It was nice for her to be rewarded like that and it was a positive start to that game. We’re always impressed with Caragh, she’s a complete professional and leads by example.”
Lastly, he spoke of our opponents and the strong start they’ve had.
“Every single game in this league is tough, there isn’t going to be a game where you’re thinking, ‘this is a definite three-points’, that just doesn’t happen in the Championship!
“Pretty much every club will say the same thing, it’s about turning up on the day, what you’ve worked on, and having that desire to win.
“You know it’s going to be tough but you have to go in there and take the points, grab them, and arrive ready for a battle.”