It has been a good week so far for Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor. A first trophy in the cabinet even this early in his managerial tenure and a convincing 3-0 win away at Liverpool, putting his side in pole position to progress from their FA Women’s Continental League Cup group.
Despite the feel-good factor currently surrounding the club, Taylor is still not completely satisfied. When speaking to FA Women’s Super League Full-Time after the match at Prenton Park yesterday, the City head coach said “I still think that there’s real areas that we can improve on.
“Today I thought there were some good elements to our play. I still expect a little bit more in the final third, particularly in the second half when things slightly opened up a little bit.
“When you keep it at 2-0 you’re always keeping the opposition hanging on by a thread and there’s still hope. I think that’s the difference at the minute, if we can get that third goal with 20 minutes to go then there’s a fair chance you could probably open up and score a few more.”
City had a very tough match in the 2019/2020 Vitality Women’s FA Cup final when they were pushed to the limit by a strong Everton side. Taylor had the luxury of resting many of the players who featured in that fixture yesterday and they were barely missed as City recorded their 3-0 win over Liverpool.
Taylor added “Fortunately, we had the option and we used it today to put seven new players in, eight with Karen obviously making her 100th appearance.
“It’s a nice milestone for her today and one that I’m sure she would’ve enjoyed.”
Bardsley’s teammate and former Liverpool player Laura Coombs grabbed the headlines on Merseyside yesterday, scoring a wonder-goal and Taylor was thoroughly impressed with midfielder’s performance. “She’s a good player Laura” he said. “I’ve liked her since I’ve started working with her and she hasn’t played as much as she would probably like because there’s real stiff competition in there but she’s been excellent in training.”
Another player who is staking her claim for a more regular starting place is 19-year-old Jess Park. The Yorkshire-born winger helped herself to a goal yesterday to go with the assist that she got in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup final on Sunday. When speaking about Park’s impact, Taylor said “I’ve said about Jess that she’s fortunate she’s in a good group of players.
“She’s got some real good experience around her, who are helping her and pushing her.
“She’s having to work to get her minutes in the team and that’s only right. I think when she has had those opportunities I think she’s made an impact.
“She made an impact at Wembley and it was great that she got her finish today. This is a tough level for her being a young girl but she’s competing really well.”
City are gaining some real momentum ahead of Saturday’s fixture against Bristol City at The Academy Stadium. The visit of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League’s bottom side could be the perfect opportunity for them to build on recent positive results even further. Victory in the 2019/2020 Vitality Women’s FA Cup final could be the springboard that Taylor has so desperately craved to kickstart the season for his side as they look to potentially add even more silverware to the cabinet by the end of the campaign.
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