NewsMatt Beard reveals 'great step in right direction' for LFC Women

The Reds enjoyed a positive afternoon at the AXA Melwood Training Centre on Sunday as they took on the Barclays Women’s Championship outfit in a behind-closed-doors friendly.

And Beard was happy with what he saw from his players, telling Liverpoolfc.com afterwards: “I thought the performance was good, especially in the first half.

“It was really pleasing to see some of the final-third stuff come off, especially some of the combination play we’ve been working on of late.

“We managed the game well so a lot of positives to come out of today and obviously more minutes in the tank.”

Beard had spoken of needing ‘a reset’ after several injuries saw the team miss a planned match the previous weekend.

He believes the gap in the schedule has been valuable in getting his squad back to where they need to be.

“The most important thing after the injuries we’ve had is that everyone has come through OK and it’s a great step in the right direction,” he said.

“If I look at last week, we’d have had 12 players available with a couple modified, whereas this week those ones had planned minutes today.

“The training has been good because we’ve got the bodies back, especially in doing the tactical work.

“My biggest frustration this pre-season has been not being able to do the work I want to do, although sometimes that can be a positive because you work on other things.

“So it’s been a good day today and a good week from a training perspective so we can build from here.”

Striker Sophie Roman Haug looked sharp and seems to be hitting her stride nicely ahead of the opening Barclays Women’s Super League match against Leicester City on September 22, having led the scoring chart in the last campaign.

“We know what we’re going to get from Soph, she can score all types of goals, she can get flick-ons, she can link up, so she’s a tough player to defend,” added Beard.

“I thought Kappy [Cornelia Kapocs] did well with her, they had a good understanding, a good relationship.

“We’ve still got plenty of work to do, we’ve been a little bit disjointed in the first few weeks of pre-season, and the international window definitely had something to do with that – I can’t believe they took the September one out and put it in July.

“But we didn’t make many changes this summer so we’re confident we can kick on and progress.”

The Reds will complete their pre-season games by taking on Manchester City Women at Melwood on September 7, before the first public outing at their new home, St Helens Stadium, against Everton Women on September 15.

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