We’re Focused On Creating History, Says Kirk
- An Adobe Women’s FA Cup Quarter-Final space has been confirmed for LCFC Women
- There were five different scores as Leicester beat Birmingham City 6-2
- The draw for the next round will take place on Monday evening
City’s run in the FA Cup continued Saturday afternoon with a comprehensive victory for Leicester over Barclays Women’s Championship outfit Birmingham.
After the game, Kirk explained his thoughts on the win, and admits conceding early may have helped give his team the boost they needed to take control.
“As much as you warn the players about complacency, the best way to react to that is conceding early,” Kirk stated. “And that proved Birmingham were in the game.
“We dealt with the challenge and the players rose to the challenge. At 2-1, I think we failed to really take control of the game, but we went through a few things at half-time and the second half performance made me feel a lot more comfortable.
“The bench we’ve got now allows us to constantly protect the team. If someone is doing their job, or even if they are playing well, we can replace that with an equal quality, so it protects the team.
“If you look at the bench today, and that’s without the likes of Lena Petermann, Remy Siemsen and Denny Draper, so we have a competitive squad now.”
Japanese duo Saori Takarada and Yuka Momiki have fitted in instantly since joining the Club this winter, with the former among the goalscorers at Pirelli Stadium.
“The Japanese players have settled in so quick,” Kirk continued. “They are fantastic football players and really good people. They’ve showed their quality again today. Saori [Takarada] took her goal well and can be a threat from set-pieces.
“Yuka [Momiki] continually shows flashes of magic which is great to watch from the stands and the side of the pitch to be honest.
“We’ve missed a bit of calmness in the midfield and Saori adds that. She knows the quality of her touch will give her time and allow her that extra bit of time even under pressure. You could give it to her in a phone box and she’ll protect the ball well.”
The next round of the competition will see Leicester play in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the second time in their short history, but the Manager didn’t want to focus on the past and instead, his sides’ achievements.
He went on to talk about the importance of Shannon O’Brien in the team, and how he was delighted to see her increase her seasonal goal tally, as she found the net on two occasions in Burton.
“We try to not look too far back and focus on creating history, which we’ve done by achieving new firsts,” Kirk voiced. “We’re a young Club still, and the thing that impresses me is the fact we have different goalscorers.
“Our top scorer is on six, but we’ve had double figures in terms of goalscorers so I’m hoping that continues, because it means we’re unpredictable with where our goals are going to come from.
“If there was one player that I’m happy did score a double, it’s Shannon. We’ve been really careful with her. She’s started most games but has also come off during them until we can get her to where we need her to be. If she can stay injury-free, she’ll be a really dangerous player for us.”