Morgan: All Credit To The Team
- LCFC Women secured a first three points of the season, beating Durham 2-1 on Wednesday
- The Foxes move up to third in their Continental Tyres League Cup group after victory at Maiden Castle
- Jonathan Morgan discussed the team’s performance following full-time, praising their bouncebackability
- He also credited goalscorers Molly Pike and Shannon O’Brien after their maiden strikes of the campaign
The Foxes emerged as 2-1 victors at Maiden Castle Sports Park, getting off the mark in Group B in the process - moving up to third in the standings - while it was also their maiden triumph across any competition in 2021/22.
The manner of the display, and the mindset and approach from by the players, were the most pleasing aspects for Morgan, who felt it was a deserved victory after the late disappointment at Brighton & Hove Albion three days earlier.
“I think it was a very professional performance,” he told LCFC TV after full-time. “For us, it was a must-win game, just to put in a bit of positivity and a bit of momentum on the pitch with the run we’re going on.
“For 75 minutes, we controlled it and we should have had three or four more goals if we were a little bit more clinical and ruthless in front of goal. That’s something we would have hoped for today.
“But for the girls it’s a big boost. Durham are a fantastic side, we know how competitive they are and how strong they are and they are always there at the top of the Championship year after year. For us, that was a big win.
“The Brighton game hit us, we came back in on the Monday and said to the girls that we don’t have a hangover from it and that Durham is a perfect opportunity to just to build back again. It was a new game, and it was nice to have a game so quick after that type of game.
“Credit to the girls, they came back in fresh, they came back in very positive-minded, and they were happy with the display against Brighton. We fully expect us to do that again against Everton.”
Abby Holmes’ straight red card shortly before the interval left the hosts down to 10 players and, after both sides had played in the league on Sunday, Morgan felt that City were able to exploit tired legs in the home side’s defence.
The LCFC Women manager explained: “In fairness to Durham, they still tried to play forward and hit us on the counter, which enabled us to have a little more space. We thought they would sit in a deep block, and they didn’t so fair play to them.
“That red card was coming due to the fact that we were opening them up quite a bit in the first half and you could see the way we were shifting the ball across the pitch, we were starting to increase their tiredness.
“You could see that and I think it was just tired legs in the first half which caught them out. We know Molly [Pike] is young and she’s like a whippet. It’s very hard to catch her, so thankfully it went in our favour.”
Morgan: A Very Professional Performance
Manager Jonathan Morgan was pleased with the manner of LCFC Women's 2-1 victory over Durham in the Continental Tyres League Cup.
Shannon O’Brien and Molly Pike both netted their first goals of the season within five second-half minutes, which ultimately turned the game in Leicester’s favour. Morgan now hopes to carry the momentum gained into Sunday’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture against Everton.
He added: “I said to her after the game, they all count and that’s her off the mark. She has been getting into some good goalscoring opportunities all season. I’m just pleased for her that’s it’s happened now and that she can build on that in her game.
“Shannon is just a workhorse for us. She works tirelessly and she deserves to get that joy in the game after the last few weeks. I’m pleased for them both and hopefully that will fill them with confidence going to Everton.
“We’ll now give them a day or two off to rest and recover and make sure they are fresh for the Everton game."