Thibaud: Always Disappointing To Lose
- Manchester United were the victors over LCFC Women on Sunday
- Ella Toone scored the winning goal at King Power Stadium
- I trust this group to learn and end the season strongly, says Julie Thibaud
- Leicester travel to West Ham United for the penultimate game of the season
Despite fighting hard for so long of the game, a singular moment of brilliance was the difference on Sunday afternoon as Man Utd took the points during last weekend’s visit to the East Midlands.
Gutted to not see out the game and maintain a clean sheet to earn at least a point, Thibaud explained how the Foxes had their chances in order to take something from the game.
“For us, it’s a tough result of course,” the defender opened with. “We really wanted the three points and we’re disappointed with the result. We had some opportunities to score the goal we needed. They scored one and it’s a nice goal but after losing, it’s normal to be disappointed.
“We know that when we play the top teams in the league that it will always be a tough game and we’ll be defending more than against teams lower in the table. But we still stick to our gameplan and try keep hold of the ball for as long as possible.
“If we need to defend for 90 minutes then we will do it, but if we have an opportunity to score like we did today then we need to take it.”
Losing games of football is never nice for players, and Leicester have not tasted victory since an Adobe Women’s FA Cup win over Liverpool back in March. This has not, however, been down to a lack of effort or positive performances, and the French centre-back believes that Leicester can finish well.
She continued: “It’s football. When you lose a few times in a row it’s difficult. But I believe in this group and trust in this group, and I think we have the capacity to win the last two games. They’re not easy games but we have played so well during the season, so we deserve to end on a high.
“We will give everything, and of course when you lose, the group take it hard but we are stronger together so we must regroup and go for it next week.”
Thibaud referenced how the squad are staying as one and that a positive connection is being built at Belvoir Drive, and now it is just about get back to winning ways.
“I want to see the group together, showing joy and scoring lots of goals, and most importantly get three points,” City's No.17 added. “We’ve missed that winning feeling which is important for the group.
“As I said, we work so well and have worked so hard during the season that we deserve more points to finish the season. We are lower in the table than expected but we have two games left to finish well and I trust the group to do so.”
Thibaud acknowledged that good communication with your team-mates on the pitch is crucial to working as a team, outlining her aims for the final two games of the Barclays Women’s Super League campaign.
“In football it is very important to communicate,” the 26-year-old explained. “It’s important to know where the players are around you and to keep a tight line. The information from your team-mates is always important but we can always improve.
“We are not higher up the league so we can improve on details, and communication is part of this. But we work well together in training so that is getting better. We’ll keep working on it and hopefully it’ll improve in the next game.
“I think today we defended well, and we were hungry to defend. I think to win games in football we have to score goals and we had the opportunities. If we can put the ball in the net and defend like we did, then we will be okay for the next two games.”