Martin Ho said his ‘players gave him everything’ and were ‘outstanding’ for large parts of the game despite Manchester United producing a late comeback to earn a3-3 draw on Sunday.
Everything was going to plan in the first half as Bethany England – her fourth of the season - and Eveliina Summanen headed us into a two-goal lead at Leigh Sports Village despite the home side striking the woodwork on three occasions and Toko Koga producing a key block on the line.
We further extended our advantage against the Champions League side in the second half as Martha Thomas, on her first WSL start of the season, fired home against her former side to give us a 3-0 lead just after the hour mark. However, United continued to pose a threat and struck back with two goals in an eight-minute spell to make it 3-2 with eight minutes left on the clock.
“I thought for 70 minutes, we were outstanding - our attacking play and how we defended,” Martin told us, reflecting on the game. “We just got to the back end of the game and they pushed it really well. The players have given me everything and I couldn’t have asked any more. They’ve battled through the whole of that game, and they’ve given me everything in this first part of the season. I’m just absolutely gutted for them.
“You never want to concede three goals - the players don’t and I don’t either, but when you’re playing against the top teams, they push you right to the end. We’ve had injuries, but that’s not an excuse. We have a good enough squad and the players have given me everything. I’m gutted we couldn’t get it over the line.
“We can take a lot of pride from this and we’ve taken big steps. We’ve grown as a team and come here to push Manchester United on their own patch, especially after going 3–0 up."
With three clinical finishes to give us a three-goal lead at one stage in the contest, Martin was pleased with our attacking intent throughout the 90 minutes and said there were many positives take ahead of into our Subway Women’s League Cup quarter-final tie against United next weekend – once again away from home.
Reflecting on the finishes, he said: “Especially Martha’s goal in the second half - that’s her second in three games.
“From all three goals, I thought they were all really well worked. Our attacking play today, when we got it right, was very good. We got into dangerous situations and we can take a lot of pride from that.
“Defensively as well, there’s a lot of pride to take. Now we reset, regroup and be ready for next week. It’s our final WSL game before the Christmas break.”