ColumnMatt Beard on Brighton test, Sophie Roman Haug update and striving for improvement

While it was frustrating our Adobe Women’s FA Cup game at West Ham was postponed due to the weather, there is nothing we can do about that and we had a good training session instead at the AXA Melwood Training Centre.

If I am going to take a positive from the fact the game was called off, it has given our new arrivals Sam Kerr and Julia Bartel a bit more time to settle in with a few more training sessions before the Brighton game.

We are lucky enough that we have been able to train because we have undersoil heating on the pitch at Melwood, so we have utilised that well.

Sam and Julia are settling in well. Sam knows a few of the girls anyway and Julia has settled in really well. Technically both are fantastic players – obviously Julia is slightly different to Sam.

We have such a good group here and the players have welcomed them really well, so it has been good.

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We play our first game of 2025 on Friday night when we host Brighton in the WSL (kick-off 7pm GMT at St Helens Stadium).

I think Brighton deserve a lot of credit if you look at the investment they have made in the playing side. Their new manager Dario Vidosic also deserves credit because it’s tough for managers overseas to come in and settle so quickly in the WSL, and I think he has done a fantastic job.

It’s going to be a good game and a tough game. They play some good stuff and I think it will be a good game for the neutral to watch.

We have been working hard during this winter break and hopefully we will see the rewards on Friday night.

I had anticipated we may get Sophie Roman Haug back for this game but I think she will now be back the week after when we travel to Leicester City.

Sophie is not a million miles away and Leicester is more realistic for her now. She had a bit of a tight quad because obviously we have stepped up her training. But she is on the pitch now with Unders [sports therapist Chris Underwood], so she’s not a million miles away.

There is no doubt that we have missed Sophie at both ends of the pitch and it has been a big loss for us.

She is dangerous in both boxes. The thing with Sophie is a lot of teams we play against try to set traps and press you. But the amount of space she creates just with her aerial ability gives others opportunities.

If I look back to when we beat Manchester United at home last season 1-0, it was just fascinating to see how United tried to deal with her threat. She is a very difficult player to defend against.

Sophie wins a high percentage of her headed duels on average and if someone is pressing us we can just get the ball to her. She is more than just that, though. She is a fantastic footballer and she is a great finisher as well that can score all types of goals.

Sophie has been a big loss for us because she allows us to play in numerous different ways.

The injuries we had in that first half of the season made it tough for us but, in my opinion, we should still be doing better than what we have. We know we need to improve, so we’ve been working hard on the training pitch.

Obviously before Christmas we got our first win at St Helens Stadium by beating Everton in the Women’s League Cup, which was so important for us.

I just think from our end, it’s like moving into a new house. You are still finding your feet and you’ve still got the little decorative touches you need to make it your own and stamp your own authority on it, and we are going through that process.

Thank you for your continued support as always.

YNWA,

Matt

Matt Beard was speaking to Liverpoolfc.com's Steve Hunter

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