NewsMatt Beard on pre-season start: 'Lots of positives, lots to work on'

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The Reds featured several academy players in their ranks at the AXA Melwood Training Centre on Sunday, while the regular senior squad built their minutes towards the start of the Barclays Women’s Super League at the end of September.

A minute’s silence was held by the teams and staff before the behind-closed-doors friendly in memory of the victims of the tragedy in Southport last month.

Beard told Liverpoolfc.com post-match: “The minutes are important for the players to bank and get them in their legs.

“These games are always a little bit indifferent, your first game you’re trying to find your feet and there will be mistakes – it’s more about the mind and getting that fitness in the legs.

“We’ve had a good first three weeks and we’ve still got plenty more to fine-tune but it was a decent start.

“The idea was to get 45 minutes into most of the players, a couple played a little bit longer. We used five academy girls today, which was great for them to train on Friday and Saturday with the first team and then get minutes on matchday. Maddie Duffy played the full 90.

“So there was a lot of positives that came out of the game and also lots of learnings that we need to improve on and tidy up on before September. But we’ve still got plenty of games left to do that.”

Summer signing Olivia Smith played the second half of the fixture and the 20-year-old Canadian made an immediate impact in an impressive runout.

“Liv has settled in really well,” said Beard. “She’s only just turned 20 years old, so there’s plenty for her to learn, but she’s definitely a talent.

“We have good players at the top end of the pitch, so there’s great competition.

“Overall, loads to work on, things for us to fine-tune and get the discipline a little bit better on but it was nice to be back out there – even if it was a bit hot for me!”

The Reds continue their pre-season campaign with another Melwood fixture on Saturday, against Aston Villa.