England’s thoughts on Villa

Debutant and goalscorer Bethany England spoke to us after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa Women.

“In the first half we really struggled and were slow out of the blocks,” she said. “They gave us a lot of pressure but we got a chance, took it and went 1-0 up. I think it’s just about making sure in the right moments we’re being clever. We gave away too many silly fouls and in the end it cost us. 

“I thought we turned it around in the second half and were on top for a lot of the game. I felt we probably deserved at least a draw by the end of it, so I’m gutted that we couldn’t get over the line with that, but I’m proud of the girls. 

“The first game after Christmas is always going to be tough. It’s not the start to the year that we wanted but there’s a lot to take from that game and especially that second half, so it’s just about building on from that and going again, ready for next week.”

England was in the right place at the right time, showing typical centre-forward’s instincts to get on the end of Kerys Harrop’s cross and give us the lead in the first half.

“For me, it’s a forward’s dream to get a ball like that,” she said. “Thankfully, I was able to just put it in the back of the net and try to lift the team a bit because we were under the cosh so that first goal was important, but the mentality to fight back and not concede two sloppy goals in that half was a bit of a shame, but onwards and upwards.

“It’s still new to me and new to the girls getting used to me. I’m getting used to them. I think it’s going to take time to build stronger relationships but I think we’ve showed that we played some good football in the second half. I’m really proud of the girls for that half, I thought we came out fighting and I’m just gutted that we couldn’t get over the line.”