Chris Holloway admitted that he was impressed with the ‘heart and desire’ of his Coventry City Ladies team, as they came from behind to beat Cardiff City on Sunday.
Despite falling behind to Ellie Smith’s opener at the Bedworth Oval, Danni Saulter netted five minutes before half-time to send the teams in level at the break. Emily Simpkins and debutant Natalie Reay both squandered chances in the second-half, before Reay set up Courtney Sweetman-Kirk to score a last-minute winner, and give Holloway his first FA Women's Premier League victory as manager.
‘’It was a hard fought performance, as we expected a very tough game. We showed the heart and desire to keep going, and we didn't sit back which I think in the end has got us the winning goal. The girls showed great character to come back from a goal down and send us in level at half time. There were plenty of positives and plenty for us to get stuck into, but with these players that’s something we will all be ready to do.’’
It was the first time that the Sky Blues had come from behind to clinch all three points this season, and after developing a habit of letting leads slip during this campaign, Holloway will be pleased with the effort and endeavour that went into earning the victory.
The Coventry City manager felt the Welsh side passed the ball better over the course of the 90 minutes, but was thankful this his team took their chances, and he pointed to the midweek tie between Celtic and Barcelona as a prime example.
‘’The pleasing thing for me was the girls showed they are not going to be beaten without a fight and they are up for the battle’’ Holloway said. ‘’I will continue to say that there is a very good bunch of players and coaches in that dressing room and I’m sure they’ll continue to show that in the weeks to come.
‘’I watched the Celtic and Barcelona game during the week and that showed that controlling the possession looks good on the stats, but you also have to make it count in goals. Cardiff probably passed it better than us today but we took our chances. I’m sure will get better and more confident.’’
Victory over the Bluebirds took Coventry’s winning run to three games in all competitions, and with three tough fixtures to come before the Christmas break – against Leeds, Sunderland and Portsmouth – Holloway is hoping that his team has hit good form at just the right time
‘’We have shown glimpses of what we are capable of and – as we know – the Christmas period is a tough one at all levels. Winning breeds confidence, so hopefully the girls will get that bit more belief and will start to get the goals that their play has lacked at times. All games are tough at this level as different teams bring different problems and challenges to face. All we will do is concentrate on what we are trying to achieve and give it our all.’’
Coventry City will make the short journey to Knowle to begin their defence of the Birmingham FA Women’s County Cup next Sunday. The Sky Blues defeated Kingshurst Sporting Club, Solihull Borough, Leafield Athletic, Wolverhampton Wanderers and then rivals Aston Villa, to clinch the cup for the first time last year. The Second Round tie will take place at Hampton Lane, and will kick off at 1pm.
Picture copyright of Covsupport News Service. Credit CNS/KM