Our women's team drew 0-0 with fellow WSL side Tottenham Hotspur at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre on Sunday.
This was the squad’s first fixture on home soil having won their two friendlies against Sevilla and Hueva during their camp in Spain.
New signing Li Mengwen was named in the starting eleven and Maria Thorisdottir got 45 minutes under her belt as she continues to get up to speed.
It was a promising start for the visitors after Manchester loanee Grace Clinton saw a fierce strike from inside the box take a deflection off Guro Bergsvand, fortunately sending it into the arms of keeper Katie Startup.
Jessica Naz also followed with a threatening strike, but Startup once again made a diving effort to deny Spurs the lead.
Melissa Phillips’s team came out fighting after the break and were undoubtedly the better side in the second half.
Pauline Bremer struck the post with a header having got on the end of one of substitute Poppy Pattinson's whipped crosses, before Spurs reacted through Naz, as she chipped an effort over the head of Startup, but the ball bounced behind off the crossbar.
Although it wasn’t a third consecutive win, Phillips was particularly pleased with the clean sheet the squad were able to maintain.
She said, “I think there is a lot to take from the performance. Another successful 90 minutes to build relationships and grow within our newly formed squad. We were able to continue building our fitness levels and identity on the pitch.
“Clean sheets in our league are no easy feat, the game ebbed and flowed quite a bit but we remained resolute in our press throughout, especially so in the second half and we created a couple of positive opportunities from it.”