Royals Runout Really Beneficial, Bedford Says
- LCFC Women defeated Reading 3-1 in a pre-season friendly
- CJ Bott, Georgia Brougham and Natasha Flint all scored
- Manager Lydia Bedford reflected on the win at Belvoir Drive
- The Foxes continue to work towards the WSL campaign
A 3-1 victory was secured in the behind-closed-doors encounter at Belvoir Drive courtesy of strikes from CJ Bott, Georgia Brougham and Natasha Flint, following Rachel Rowe’s early opener for the visitors.
Pleased with the manner of the result, having come from behind to win, Bedford also took away some key pointers from the team’s overall performance against a fellow Barclays Women’s Super League side.
“It was really helpful,” she reflected to LCFC TV following the game. “Reading were missing a few of their key players from last season, so you play what is in front of you, but from our perspective, it started as a really competitive game.
“They definitely came out for the first five or 10 minutes with a real intent in what they were trying to do, which led to an early goal that they scored. That’s a great experience for us because, if nothing else from that fixture, we’ve shown that we can ride that storm and then grow into a game and win it.
“Every pre-season game so far, I can probably refer to a key bit of learning that I think will help or strengthen us in the season and Saturday’s test was a really good one. I’m pleased with how that went.”
While results are not the main focus, back-to-back successes over the Royals and Southampton – Leicester’s first two victories across pre-season – have provided a boost within the squad, who continue to show progression in the way they are playing on the pitch.
She continued: “From a confidence perspective for the players, we keep talking about the learning and the process more than the results, but you definitely don’t want to go into the start of the season having not won one fixture.
“But at the same time, you could win every game in pre-season but really you earn your money in the first game of the season against Everton. For the players, I would suggest that they are picking up confidence through things we are trying to implement in games.
“And when we go through a review in the week in our player meetings, we’re seeing some really nice patterns coming out now, which gives them confidence in the way they are playing.”
Brighton & Hove Albion are up next for City, facing the Seagulls at Belvoir Drive on Saturday as their pre-season schedule moves towards its conclusion. A team the Foxes enjoyed two close battles with last term, the South Coast outfit will no doubt provide another tricky test.
“That’s why we picked it,” the ex-England youth coach explained. “We know that Brighton are a really well-organised team, and last season they finished mid-table.
Bedford: We Are Building Up
An insight into LCFC Women's pre-season with manager Lydia Bedford, who speaks to LCFC TV.
“They are a side that were very consistent across the season and one that we had a really positive result against in January, but in a game that probably could have gone either way, and we just pipped it.
“We wanted to give ourselves a final challenge before the international break when we lose some of the squad, and we felt they were a really good match because one of the things Brighton are excellent at under Hope [Powell], is their defensive shape.
“For us it’s an opportunity to really build against a team that will make it difficult for us.”
LCFC Women Season Tickets and match tickets for 2022/23 are now on sale, HERE.