Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner has emphasised the need to keep focusing on winning games after his side returned to the top of the Barclays Women’s Super League table with a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon.
Leah Galton fired The Red Devils into the lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before Beth England soon levelled matters. Spurs defender Molly Bartrip’s own goal then handed Manchester United the three points which have moved the club above Chelsea into pole position in the league table. There was one negative for The Red Devils with midfielder Ella Toone being shown a red card for a foul and retaliation on Eveliina Summanen late in the game.
When speaking to the media after the match, Skinner said that he was a little disappointed with the first half performance but he was pleased with how his side found solutions for the second half.
“Of course, it is a really important win but we’ve done what we always do; try to win the game from the off,” Skinner said when speaking in the post-match press conference.
“We weren’t quick enough in the first half, we needed to be quicker in our thought processes; we needed to make decisions before the ball came to us rather than receive it and then make decisions. We were a bit slow in the first half but the beauty of this team is that when we went in at half-time, we gave them five minutes and they had already identified their solutions and you saw that in the second half.
“It’s an important win but it is something that we try to do every time we play. If you are trying to win the game and are attacking to win the game, you’ll win more than you’ll lose.”
Skinner admitted that this afternoon’s victory was important but he is not getting carried away, he wants his side to keep focused on winning and accruing more league points.
He said “In terms of the table, it is important but we just need to keep accruing points. We’ve got so much growth still to come; we can be super-adaptive in our shape both attacking and defending.
“The reality is that we had to win today, that’s the pressure we set ourselves but we have to try the things we do to win. We don’t think we are going to get anything, we have to earn it and our players are so hard-working, so humble and so focused.
“It’s good to be top of the table but look at how good the teams are in this league, I love it. I love being back in this country with teams and players that are exciting and that anyone can get a result on the day. There are so many more twists that can happen yet, all we can do is keep trying to win games of football.”
Manchester United return to action following the international break with a Vitality Women’s FA Cup fifth round tie against Durham at the Leigh Sports Village on Sunday 26 February 2023.
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