Merricks admitted that the overall performance against Arsenal was disappointing, and dismissed suggestions that last weekend’s Continental League Cup match against Women’s Championship opposition Charlton had any effect on the players’ mentality.
She said, “The players are very disappointed with their performance. We were very slow and sloppy in the first half, especially when you compare it to our normal standards, so we will have to reflect on that and have a look at what we were missing in the build-up to the match.
“We can’t make excuses like that [returning to league action after playing in the Continental League Cup], because it's part of being a professional footballer. If we want to showcase ourselves as an established WSL side, then we have to be able to deal with those differences and transitions week by week.
“Arsenal played in the Champions League on Thursday and they were very sharp on the ball. We have to learn from this and be able to transition into different competitions and treat them all the same.”
Merricks then assessed the differences between this match and the game against Chelsea two weeks ago, where Albion came close to securing all three points against their more established opponents. With an international break just around the corner followed by a home match against West Ham United on Sunday 13th October, she was keen to move on from the match as quickly as possible.
“The preparation in the week wasn’t difficult, but you have to turn up on the day and perform when you play against teams like this. If you look at our performance against Chelsea, we were a lot sharper defensively and were able to deal with their one-twos round the corner and their first time passing, but the difference was we weren’t able to do that against Arsenal.
“We will all look back at what happened. We prepared well, but something wasn’t quite right. We will move on, because the West Ham match will come around fast. We have a few players going away for the international break, but we’ll look to be on the front foot as much as we can in training – we have to learn and move on as quickly as possible, and that is the main thing we need to take from this.”
Tickets for our next home FA WSL encounter against West Ham United on Sunday 13th October, kick-off 2pm, are available to buy in advance at a price of £4 for adults and £2 for over-65s and under-18s (including a £1 online booking fee – tickets purchased in person or over the phone have an additional 50p booking fee).
To get yours, visit tickets.BrightonAndHoveAlbion.com or call the Albion Booking line on 0844 327 1901 (calls cost seven pence per minute plus your network access charge).