ReactionMatt Beard on Manchester United defeat, Fahey return and Van de Sanden absence

The Reds were edged out at Prenton Park on Wednesday night by a first-half strike from Nikita Parris, which settled the Group B contest.

Liverpool battled back following the half-time interval and asserted sustained pressure in the tie, though were thwarted in their search for a leveller, with Missy Bo Kearns in particular forcing visiting goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce into a stern save.

Beard’s squad next return to Barclays Women’s Super League action, facing Brighton & Hove Albion in a 2pm GMT kick-off on Sunday on home soil.

Read on for the post-match reaction from the boss…

On his overall reflections on the match...

First half... [we were] a little bit too slow to get into the rhythm in the sense of the press. I felt [our] distances could have been better, [we] could have stepped up quicker and could have put them under pressure better. I think as the game went on we got better at it. The goal is frustrating because it shouldn’t go in the back of the net, but we’ll look at that separate on Friday. I thought in the second half we were excellent. We dominated the game, we created some really good chances and we should have scored. The goalkeeper has made an unbelievable save and that probably was the difference tonight.

I think the one real chance they had they took and I don’t really think it was a real chance. The ones we’ve had tonight we’ve not taken. But I was pleased with the second half especially. We tweaked it at half-time. Maybe I got it wrong in the first half, but there’s still positives to take and it’s in the legs. I thought Leanne [Kiernan] had a great impact, which is really good for us. As I say, we’ve used this competition this year to give players learning experiences. Players like Sofie Lundgaard, Miri Taylor, Yana [Daniels] is playing in a slightly different position and obviously we gave minutes to Tash [Flint] and Mia [Enderby] as well. We’ve used this competition really to keep everyone fit and healthy. We gave a great account of ourselves against Man City. I think tonight we’ve matched them and done really well. So, there’s plenty of positives.

On whether Mia Enderby’s substitution was due to injury...

No, she’s fine. We were making that change anyway.

On captain Niamh Fahey’s return...

I thought she was excellent as well. She didn’t look like she’d been away, did she? It’s great to have Niamh back in just from a leadership point of view. You see Leanne’s performance as well coming off the bench. So, I think there’s a lot of positives on that front as well.

On Shanice van de Sanden’s absence from the squad...

Shanice’s partner had a baby yesterday. She’s flying back tomorrow to be back with us training on Friday to be available for the weekend. But yeah, it’s great news. She’s buzzing. We’re delighted that everyone’s got through the birth OK. We’ve got a healthy baby and we’ve got two new mums as well.

• Get your tickets for Sunday's WSL game against Brighton at Prenton Park here