Caulfield hails team performance
A few days after his side’s victory over Celtic, City manager Peter Caulfield, took time to reflect on the game.
He said, “I felt we seriously underperformed in the defeat by Celtic in the Scottish Cup 2 weeks ago. We had a lot to prove on Sunday. We knew Celtic would be on a high after their Cup win and it was their home game. We had to show that we could bounce back immediately.”
As he predicted pre-match, the early part of the game was played at a frenetic pace and saw both sides share possession but rarely threaten the goal. The passing by both sides was quick and incisive but as Caulfield said, “We were relinquishing possession far too quickly in the first half by trying to hit our strikers early and allowing Celtic to step in and win the ball back. This meant we struggled to play our more natural passing game and had to work extremely hard off the ball. However, throughout this period we limited Celtic to only one real effort, from 30 yards, which Laura Williamson, in goal, done exceptionally well to turn over the bar.”
“I demanded more composure from my players at half time”, continued the City boss. “It seemed to work as the flow of the game changed with the resumption of the second half and we passed the ball much better and retained possession. We started winning more of the second balls, which in turn led to us playing the majority of the match in the Celtic half. Although a few chances were made with great penetrating passes and strong wide play, we couldn’t manage to find the net but I always felt we were going to make the breakthrough and that happened with the award of a second penalty which full back Leeanne Campbell stepped up to fire home.”
“Although not creating a great deal more in terms of goal scoring opportunities I was delighted with the commitment of all the players and felt we were deserved winners of the match. The players knew the importance of the win to stay top of the table and proved they have got the desire and focus as well as the ability to win this league.”
26.02.08
