Megan Connolly says that the women’s team have found some confidence after a tough start to the campaign.
After four consecutive defeats in October, that culminated in an 8-0 defeat to Tottenham and the departure of manager Hope Powell, we’re now unbeaten in three.
That includes Sunday’s 2-1 win over London City Lionesses in the Continental Tyres League Cup, after a 5-4 win over West Ham and 3-3 draw with Liverpool in the WSL.
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“As players we hadn’t performed as well as we could,” Connolly reflected. “We can all hold our hands up and say we weren’t good enough in the first few games of the season, both at the back and going forward.
“A lack of creativity was a bit of a problem and we were shipping a lot of goals, which is not a good combination. Everyone had to look at themselves and be honest about how they’ve done.
“The goals we’ve scored in the last three games have given us confidence, we know we can create and score, that builds confidence in itself. The players have taken ownership of it and stepped up.”
The 25-year-old made her first start of the campaign in Sunday’s victory and hopes the return of her and defender Rebekah Stott will boost the squad.
“It is tough because I have high standards and expectations of myself, so getting back up the speed of the game was challenging. It was great to get minutes against London City and sharpen the in-game things that can only come with playing competitive football.
“I thought I did ok, but I know I can do a lot better – one touch passes instead of two touches. Those are the things I pride myself on and I want to get back to doing. There’s still a way to go to get back to where I want to be.
“It is important for the team to have people returning from injury, Rebekah Stott will be back fit soon as well soon so that adds another player to the depth of the squad.
“Having more players competing for positions is important, but it also means we can push each other and that should result in better performances. It’s nice to be back involved.
“Everyone has upped their game off the back of a few bad results and tried to shift where we were. For me, I am focussed on trying to get better and to keep learning.”