Salomon praises Golden Girls’ fighting spirit in Chelsea defeat

While the Golden Girls lost 3-0 to Chelsea Ladies in the Continental Tyres Cup, it was hard to fault the performance of anyone representing Watford Ladies.
Match action from Watford Ladies' defeat to Chelsea Ladies. Picture (c) Andrew Waller/AW ImagesMatch action from Watford Ladies' defeat to Chelsea Ladies. Picture (c) Andrew Waller/AW Images
Match action from Watford Ladies' defeat to Chelsea Ladies. Picture (c) Andrew Waller/AW Images

“We were pleased with the performance,” said manager John Salomon. “First half was a lot about defending. We had to try and keep things tight, make sure that we restricted space and try to take opportunities to break out.

“Second half we played with a lot more intent and started to ask a few questions of Chelsea, we created some good opportunities and had a couple of clear cut chances. I think we were wondering what we needed to do to score by the end of it.

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“It was disappointing not to get the goal. At 2-0 had we done so it would have gave them something to think about and changed the game. At that point, they had rotated a couple of key players off that had made a massive impact in the first half, particularly Gemma Davison, I thought she was outstanding today.”

One of the reasons behind the second half display was the impressive shifts put in from those who came off the bench.

“The substitutes made an impact,” explains Salomon. “Megan [Wynne] came on with a lot of intensity which supported our attacking play.

“Emily [Heaslip] gave us a bit of fight, desire and passion in that midfield, she’s a ball winner and when she wins it she wants to break forward and break lines.

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“Ellie [Mason] did well, she had a few shooting opportunities when she came on. She’s a very different striker to Anneka [Nuttall], she offers us something different and it was good to see her get on and get a good performance from her as well.”

With an important league game coming up this Sunday against Oxford United, it was perhaps no surprise there was a couple of changes made to the starting line-up.

“There was an element of rotation today,” said Salomon. “This was a tough 90 minutes playing against a Chelsea side that move the ball very quickly and have got quick runners off the ball.

“We’ve got a really important game against Oxford on Sunday, we were mindful of that with both our selections and our substitutions.

“It’s good to see the players on the pitch fighting for their places now and pushing forwards and wanting to be better.”

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