Foster: Final Details Cost Us
- LCFC Women fell to 3-0 Arsenal defeat on Sunday afternoon
- Beth Mead scored twice at Emirates Stadium
- Leicester drop to 10th in the Barclays Women’s Super League
- We gifted them their second and third goals, says Jennifer Foster
Last weekend saw Leicester make their first trip to Emirates Stadium, but a brace from Beth Mead and a second half goal from Alessia Russo resulted in defeat for the travelling side.
Disappointed to walk away with nothing, the Assistant Manager spoke about the key details that made the difference in north London.
“I thought in the first half we were excellent,” Foster began. “The gameplan worked and the players executed it really well. Of course it was disappointing with the goal, we just didn’t track the player and it’s those fine details we need to tighten up on.
“In the second half, for some reason, we deviated from the gameplan and that’s what opened us up; we gifted them the second and third goal which is hugely disappointing and they’re the bits we need to work on.
“We need to be concentrated for the 90 minutes because we do all the hard work and switching off is when it’s cost us.”
Mead opened the scoring around half-an-hour in with some quick play, before she scored her second shortly after her Lionesses' team-mate doubled their advantage in the second period.
Foster believes City moved away from what had brought them some success in the first half, and stated that you cannot afford to gift goals to the opposition at this level.
She added: “Other than trying to nibble on some loose passes from them high up the pitch, it was just a lot of sliding from left to right, so when you talk about physically fatiguing, I don’t think it’s as tiring as our usual player press.
“We looked comfortable, it was just those moments when we started going long that it started opening up for them and that’s the moments we need to digest because we did so well in the first half – we can’t gift them goals.”
Despite failing to find the net at Emirates Stadium, the Assistant Manager believes there are positives to take from Sunday afternoon, compared to the reverse fixture back in November at King Power Stadium.
“We’re a lot tighter in the backline and that’s changed since we’ve gone to that back four,” Foster explained. “We’re still conceding a few goals but we do look more secure.
“We created a few chances where the ‘keeper (Manuela Zinsberger) has had to pull off two world class saves to keep them out so it’s just disappointing that we didn’t create those chances in the second half.
“When it’s 1-0, you always back yourself to get something out of the game and it’s a shame we couldn’t do that today. That’s the tough reality of not being able to be consistent in what we do. In the first half we caused problems, and in the second half we caused our own problems which gave them their goals.”
The attendance at the weekend was over 42,000 including 600 Leicester fans making their way from the East Midlands. Foster believes the intensity of the occasion wasn’t one to be feared by the team which includes plenty of international players.
The last word of the day looked to City’s next Barclays Women's Super League fixture, when they return home to welcome Manchester United to Filbert Way on Sunday afternoon (3pm BST kick-off).
Looking to work on last weekend’s defeat in the capital, Foster outlined some key areas which she knows must be better should the Foxes want to build to their points tally before the end of the season.
“Last week (against Tottenham Hotspur) was good in terms of preparation for this one,” Foster explained. "But as I’ve said previously, we’ve got lots of internationals in the team, so playing in front of big crowds doesn’t really bother us. I thought the team did really well with it, but just those details and finer moments let us down today.
“I think we need to go back and look at today’s game. Man Utd will pose a different threat, but we need to make sure we’re concentrated on those details.
“There were some good bits of play but then some moments when we need to be switched on. Even though Man Utd will pose a different threat, if we allow some of the opportunities we did today, they’ll punish us.”