Everton manager Willie Kirk says that his side should not be judged on their 4-0 defeat to Manchester City this afternoon.
The Blue Girls offered far too much space to their opponents’ wide players during a first half which saw them concede three goals. Everton were better in the second half but Manchester City captain Steph Houghton did add to the scoreline as she curled in a sublime free-kick.
Speaking in the post-match press conference in which FAWSL Full-Time were present, Kirk said that his side should not be judged on the defeat and that things will improve very quickly.
“We can pretty much guarantee that was a one-off performance;” Kirk said. “You will see a better Everton next week, I will see a better Everton in training this week.
“I would say to fans to come back and watch us and we will make sure that we represent the badge better.”
Commenting on the performance, Kirk admitted that his side never really kicked on from what was a bright opening few minutes and they simply didn’t do the basics and follow the game plan.
He added “First few minutes we looked bright enough but we never managed to look after the ball well enough in the opposition half, we weren’t brave enough out of possession.
“The way that we have been training and playing has been based around a real bravery and aggression in terms of our out of possession work. We didn’t manage to nail that today, in-fact we didn’t get anywhere near nailing that so that caused us a lot of problems that never had to be there, that was disappointing.”
Less than 6,000 spectators attended the match and Kirk said that his side must develop a winning habit to be able to grow their fanbase in the coming months.
“I was pretty vocal about getting five figures but we didn’t manage that;” Kirk said. “You look at the numbers at The Leigh Sports Village last night and the expected numbers at The Emirates tomorrow and we are probably happy with the 6,000.
“I do think that we can get more fans in and I think it will be a matter of time before we find out if the TV deal helps or hinders attendances at games or if people are just happy watching games at home.
“I thought that the club promoted it really, really well. One thing that will help is if we start winning games and performing properly. Hopefully, we will have a good crowd at our next home game having seen an improved display against Chelsea.”
Everton’s next fixture at Chelsea takes place on Sunday 12 September.
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