London City Lionesses head coach Melissa Phillips said that she was pleased to see her side capitalise when they were on top in this afternoon’s 2-0 victory over Charlton Athletic in the FA Women’s Championship.
The two sides were deadlocked for large parts of the first half with clear goalscoring opportunities at an absolute premium. When The Pride did eventually threaten the Charlton Athletic goal, they were quick to make their mark.
It took London City Lionesses 40 minutes to test visiting keeper Eartha Cumings and when the chance came, Brooke Nunn directed her effort straight at the Scotland international. Lily Agg then fired against the post four minutes later before Karin Muya’s close range effort on the stroke of half-time broke the deadlock.
When speaking to FAWSL Full-Time after the match, London City Lionesses head coach Phillips said that she was pleased to see her team grab their reward in one of the game’s few fluid spells in-front of goal.
“We have felt that in some games where we have had a really positive wave of play, we haven’t come away with a goal from it,” Phillips said. “It was fantastic to see that goal come at the end of the first half and that really is a dagger in the heart for the opposition when you concede a goal in the 45th minute.
“Looking at the second goal, it comes a little bit against the run of play. Charlton were pushing for the equaliser and something that we have asked Karin (Muya) to do all of the time is jump on that weak side. It’s fantastic to have her back in the line-up and deservedly getting a couple of goals.”
At the other end of the pitch, London City Lionesses’ defensive unit largely kept the visitors’ attack quiet other than a couple of wayward efforts on goal. Phillips went on to highlight the high level of competition at the club for the centre-back positions.
She said “We are fortunate enough to have another good centre-back who played the first half of the season who is not in the line-up right now in Carly Girasoli. She’s brilliant out of possession and she challenges Hayley (Nolan) and Harley (Bennett) in ways in sessions that makes them have to come out and battle for their spots in the line-up.
“They withstood the test fantastically today, they had to do more out of possession work than in possession work. They defended the transition well, Robinson is a real threat for Charlton and I thought we managed her pace well. She is always going to get by now and again but they managed her really well.”
London City Lionesses now go into the international break and Phillips will allow her team to get some rest before the season’s final three games.
“For us, rest and recovery is important, we have come through a six-game stint where we have had to persevere to come out on top. We will rest and recover for the first few days and focus on Lewes.
“Again, it will be about challenging our mindset and our work ethic to emulate the performance that we put in today.”
Should London City Lionesses defeat Lewes in their game in-hand after the international break, The Pride will move up to third position in the FA Women’s Championship table.
About The Author
