Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner said that his side were naive in moments as they slipped to a penalty shootout defeat at Durham last night in the group stage of the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup.
The Red Devils were twice pegged back by their second tier opponents as the two sides battled out a 2-2 draw in normal time. Both of the hosts’ goals came from set pieces, threats that Skinner had highlighted before the match. Durham then went on to win the resulting penalty shootout 3-1.
When speaking to FAWSL Full-Time after the match, Skinner was frustrated by his side’s defeat with naivety being a factor.
“We were naive in moments,” Skinner said. “Our energy was great but you can’t be as intricate with our plays on that pitch which puts you out of line a bit.
“I’m not happy with how we’ve given away that free-kick, it was cheap. The line was fine but we didn’t drop in that central channel, it is an easy defensive situation so I’m frustrated with that and then at the end, we’ve lost our marker. Two goals like that, it’s poor.”
Going on to discuss the game-changing moments further, Skinner said that there is room for improvement in his side’s game management while he was bitterly disappointed with Manchester United’s penalty taking.
He said “They were pushing and we’ve given away a throw in and a cheap corner then we’ve not marked properly. It is a series of uncharacteristic mistakes from us and we need to make sure that it is something that we focus on.
“It is not just about kicking it out, it is about understanding why you don’t kick it out in that moment. If we protect the ball, it runs out for a goal kick and we win the game. It is those little moments that I want us to learn from, everything is a learning opportunity.
“Even after the result, you’ve then got to say ‘we’ve got to win the penalties’. With all due respect, their goalkeeper isn’t the most imposing figure so you’ve got to utilise that.
“We are not naive but we were naive in moments and that’s what’s hurt us. I will make sure that the players see that and we learn from it.”
Other than picking the ball out of the net following the two goals, home keeper Naoisha McAloon was largely untested throughout the 90 minutes. Skinner said that his side needed to be more ruthless with the chances that came their way.
“Games tell you everything,” Skinner said. “We’ve had a two v one and not played with the right detail, we should have scored that. It is important that I see the right mentality.
“I actually thought the energy was fine, we were pressing but what we didn’t do well was when we were in positions to deliver behind the back-line, we tried to overplay. We tried to pass in the box when we’ve had a chance to shoot, it was just like we were trying to help each other too much. We connected but in that moment, we connected too much and on these pitches, they are unforgiving, we need to try and finish the moments when they come.
“We were trying to be too kind, too friendly and you need to be ruthless.”
Manchester United are back in action on Sunday when they travel to Everton in the Barclays Women’s Super League.