ReactionGemma Bonner: We have to learn and move on quickly to Everton
Gemma Bonner wants Liverpool FC Women to regroup and move on quickly following their defeat by Manchester United.
Matt Beard's side suffered a 4-0 loss at Leigh Sports Village on Sunday afternoon in the Barclays Women's Super League.
There is now a swift turnaround, with the Reds returning to action on Wednesday night with a Merseyside derby against Everton in the Women's League Cup (6pm GMT kick-off) at St Helens Stadium.
Bonner has called on her teammates to move past the defeat against United and turn their full focus to the meeting with their city rivals as quickly as possible.
"We have to put this behind us," she reflected to Sky Sports. "We have to learn from it and the good thing is we have an opportunity to do that on Wednesday night.
"We'll be back in [on Monday] and we have to recover quick. We know we're probably light in the squad but we're strong enough within the squad we've got that it gives an opportunity for players to step up.
"You've seen Zara [Shaw] get the opportunity and I thought she did fabulous out there. So, it gives other players opportunities and it's up to us as a squad to push through it."
Read on for the rest of the interview below…
On the defeat by United...
We're frustrated and we're disappointed. It's not an acceptable scoreline from our point of view. We know we're thin on numbers, but I think today - don't get me wrong, there were a few things we did - but I think ultimately when you make mistakes at this level they'll punish you with the chances that they get. We have to regroup. We obviously have a quick turnaround with the game on Wednesday.
On the first two goals coming so quickly together...
It's hard to say on one thing. I think as a game and as a whole there's a lot we could've done better. Obviously managing moments is crucial but we still have a young squad and we're still learning. Unfortunately when you're playing in a top league those moments can punish you and we've found that out today. I think in the first half we definitely had good moments ourselves, but they have two and score two and you go in at half-time still positive. Coming out in the second half we did try [to respond] but ultimately we have to do a lot of things together as a team in terms of preventing the good players that they have and giving up those chances.
On dealing with the injuries and expectations after last season...
I think the expectation from us comes from within. I want to win every single game I play in and I'm sure it's the same for everyone else. That mentality doesn't change. Obviously we've not done as well as we did last year in terms of the start but I think we've still got a lot of quality within the squad. The benefit is after a disappointment like this, we have an opportunity with the derby on Wednesday night. We have to be ready again come Arsenal at the weekend as well. I think we've got a lot of characters within the squad. It's time for us to step up and be ready come Wednesday.
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