Slough 8:0 QPR Ladies Reserves
There wasn’t really anything spectacular about Slough. I didn’t feel they had any players who were vastly superior to ours, but what they did have and used very well, was their experience.
They clearly had players who have been there and done it before and that told as the match progressed and they capitalised on one too many individual errors that we made and got their rewards for it.
They were also a little bit naughty in the sense that sometimes they fouled blatantly or left a foot in here or there to break up the play if they felt they had to, but it’s that type of knowhow and nous that our lot are missing and still learning about.
We were very much in this game for the opening 20-25 minutes though. We were doing okay and I was fairly comfortable with what I’d seen in that period. We had lots of possession and seemed to be playing the majority of the football in their half. But we lacked the cutting edge to pry open their experienced centre-halves and, if we’re being honest with ourselves, we’ve lacked that quality and composure in the final third for the last few weeks.
Then we gave a silly goal away and that sucked the life and energy out of us, which was a shame. It was a horrible pitch in fact; bobbly, dry and very hard, but I was still disappointed by the manner we conceded because it came from a scenario I had specifically spoken about avoiding in the dressing room before the game.
Instead of clearing our lines at the back and putting the ball out at the first sign of danger, something that Slough did well, we dallied on the ball and tried passing it square across the defence and got caught in possession. And within a matter of seconds Slough had taken the lead and then we conceded two more goals shortly after, which were also down to sloppy individual errors.
So they were soft goals to give away and I was annoyed we didn’t really make Slough earn them enough and that grates on me personally. I don’t like being cheap, but this was worse because it was a free giveaway and avoidable.
The second-half was marred by an injury to Chloe Julien who had to come off, leaving us with 10 players as we’d used all of our subs and despite some honest effort, we just weren’t at the races and not enough of our players showed the necessary desire or focus keep the scores down and I found that frustrating.
We didn’t play well as a team and sometimes that is just how it goes. The first goal knocked the stuffing out of us and we never really got going again and instead seemed to run out of steam more than anything. One or two of the players are lacking in fitness and match practice too, and that was really obvious at times.
It was a performance littered with basic mistakes and that’s a real concern at this time, not because we’re making mistakes as that happens in football, but we’re making the same ones over and over and getting punished for them.
It’s a hard one to call when a team is as young as ours and still learning, but it’s also frustrating that they’re sometimes not remembering instructions in the heat of the moment and then doing something that’s not part of the game plan.
Until now I’ve really enjoyed the entire experience with the team, but the last few weeks are starting to pose a real challenge for me. It’s not just the players who are learning because myself and the other coaches are too. None of us are the finished article and we’re all in this together and need to remember and respect that.
We are at the business end of the season now and it’s imperative that we finish it well. Even if we can’t win our division, I see this as a crucial period where I need to prove to myself that I’ve got what it takes and that I still have the hunger and desire to keep going regardless. I hope the players feel the same, because if their hearts are not in it, and at times in this game, it looked like that might be the case for some of them, then mine won’t be by the time the season is over and then my journey will be over before it’s really begun.
In the last weeks I feel like I sound like a broken record. I keep saying the same things to the players but it feels as though the message isn’t getting through as much as it was earlier in the season. If that trend continues I will need to review my approach and search for a solution, because in my eyes, if I can’t get through that’s a dangerous situation for me to be in.
But I’m ready and up for the challenge and I believe these players still are too. We have work to do between now and the end of the season and it’s up to us to respond and put in the graft to change our fortunes and recent run of results.
Team: Sylvia Williams, Alex Lupano, Jade Bowley, Jade Creighton, Melanie Randall, Scarlett Hanharan, Vicky James, Anita Afonso, Kesleigh Danielle Long (Allana Ashmeil), Chloe Julien, Kylie Worster (Stephanie Lupano)
Subs: Stephanie Lupano and Allana Ashmeil
