Powell Pleased To Maintain Title Push

Brighton & Hove Albion women’s first-team manager Hope Powell was pleased to see her side continue their title push with a comfortable 4-1 win away at Sheffield.

Ini Umotong, Kate Natkiel, Aileen Whelan and Danielle Buet were all on target in South Yorkshire, and Powell stressed the importance of maintaining the pressure on Doncaster and Millwall.

She said, “We did well, given the surface wasn’t great, and we probably should’ve scored four goals in the first half and four goals in the second.

“We need to work on our finishing and be more clinical, but it was a hard contest and they were very physical.

“Overall, I’m relatively pleased as it gives us three points and keeps us in contention.”

It took Albion 31 minutes to take the lead after a number of chances went begging in the opening stages, and Powell explained how Umotong’s opener gave the side renewed belief.

“I thought we should’ve been a goal up in the first ten minutes and Sheffield grew in confidence while the game stayed goalless.

“But we got a bit of confidence and momentum once we scored and we then got the second goal at a crucial time.

“Kate [Natkiel] worked hard and it was nice to see her get on the scoresheet. It’s a real confidence booster for her and the timing of it gave us more momentum.

“Once the third one went in, we could relax a bit and bring some other players on.”

Powell assessed the remaining eight games of the season, which includes two home games against Doncaster and Millwall.

“We had a really tough game against Doncaster and learned a lot from that match.

“We have to be better when we play them at home and that goes for Millwall as well. I would like to think we’ve improved since then and the return matches for those two games could be title deciders.

“We’ve got a bit of momentum now, but we have to manage that. We were very light in terms of injuries and the next few days will be about recovery, making sure we don’t overdo it in training to make sure we’re physically and mentally prepared for the games ahead.”