Everton’s interim manager Chris Roberts said that the timing of Manchester City’s second goal killed off his side’s hopes of reaching the Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-finals.
The Blue Girls went down 4-0 to The Cityzens in their quarter-final tie at The Academy Stadium this afternoon. Everton went into the game hoping to compete for the full 90 minutes but their hopes were left in tatters after conceding before and after the half-time whistle.
Everton had gone into the break 1-0 down and Roberts was hoping to see his side come out and compete in the second period. As it turned out, Lauren Hemp netted both hers and Manchester City’s second goal just moments after the restart, changing the outlook for the remainder of the game.
When speaking in the post-match press conference, Everton boss Roberts said that Hemp and Manchester City’s second goal was a pivotal moment.
“The way we set up today was to make it difficult for Manchester City to play, I felt that in the first half we did that,” Roberts said. “I was disappointed with the goal that we conceded and ultimately, conceding from a set play so early in the second half has changed everything in terms of the way that we have tried to approach the game – it forces us to change the shape, to be more expansive. Credit to Manchester City, with the quality they have, the more expansive you have to be.
“I felt that the timing of that second goal really hurt us today. With it being a cup competition, we had to do everything that we could to try and get back in the game but that never happened.
“Disappointed but the timing of the second goal has really hurt us today.”
Manchester City goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck had very little to do with Everton having failed to record a shot on target for the second game running. Roberts went on to say that while his team must be strong with their defensive plan, they have to provide a real attacking threat at the other end of the pitch.
He said “Yes, we want to defend well but we want to attack as well and score goals. I certainly felt that in the second half against Chelsea we were much more on the front foot, had good opportunities and just didn’t hit the target with them. Today, we were quite a bit off it in terms of our attacking play, managing the ball and keeping hold of the ball long enough to get players up the pitch.
“It is one thing to be strong defensively but we need to make sure that we have an attacking threat as well.”
Everton are next in action on Wednesday evening when they again face Manchester City at The Academy Stadium, this time in a Barclays FA Women’s Super League match.
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