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London City Lionesses were denied their second win in succession by an injury-time equaliser from Reading’s Lauren Wade on Sunday [10 September].
The Pride dominated possession and out-chanced their opponents at Princes Park, but were unable to turn Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah’s first-half strike into three vital points in the Barclays Women’s Championship.
“There are positives to take from the match because there were times when we kept ball possession and played through their press in the way that we have been working on,” said head coach Carolina Morace.
“We played with our full-backs in attacking possession and they did very well. Sometimes, we started to play longer balls and lost our confidence a little – which is a problem that we don’t want to repeat again because if we stick with the ball possession we are attacking rather than defending.”
The Royals’ last-grasp equaliser was hard to take for London City, who dictated the tempo for much of a sweltering afternoon at Princes Park.
“It feels tough right now and we’re all disappointed with the result,” admitted captain Lois Joel at full-time.
“However, we’ve grown a lot over the last few weeks and we had some really good spells in the game that we can be proud of. Going forward, it’s just about learning how to manage these games better and being able to see them out.”
Danielle Carter was awarded the Player of the Match award for an all-action performance at centre-forward, while Lucy Fitzgerald, Paige Satchell, and Tinaya Alexander received praise from Morace.
“Lucy likes to run, a lot like Connie [Scofield],” said the Italian of Fitzgerald’s display.
“Her fitness is a really important part of her game because she made good attacking and defensive runs at the right time in the game.”
When asked about Satchell’s debut performance, Morace added: “I think it was a positive game for her [and] we have to consider that she just came from New Zealand and would never have had 90 minutes in her legs today.
“I am also lucky because we saw Tinaya play her best match, in my opinion. She was confident with the ball and could make moves around her opponents, which is exactly what I want from her.”
Carolina Morace's London City Lionesses return to Princes Park on Sunday 1 October, with Charlton Athletic visiting in the Barclays Women's Championship.
With tickets selling quickly, secure your spot at Princes Park today.