After a pleasing performance in Perth on the weekend, Head Coach Alex Smith reflected on his side’s improvement over the past few months and looks to keep building ahead of the Western Sydney Wanderers this Saturday.
“I was very happy with that performance. I thought we controlled large parts of the game, which was pleasing, just failed to put away a few chances as has been the case for a few of our games now, been doing a bit of work on that at training as much as we can,” Smith said.
“Hopefully the girls take a little bit of confidence from the performance and build on that against Western Sydney,” he added.
“We played them [Western Sydney] not too long ago, I thought we were the better team on the day. We have just gone away to Perth who are in second place and for me, played a much better game than they did and dominated the game so there’s no reason we can’t do that this weekend.”
“They’ve obviously got a couple of threats, but I thought we dealt with them quite well the last time we played them so more of the same and at the other end, just putting the ball in the back of the net when the opportunity presents itself.”
Originally from Perth, 16-year-old defender Ruby Cuthbert made her starting debut in the 0-0 draw against Glory and Smith was very pleased with her performance in her hometown.
“I thought she was fantastic. It was a big game against a top-two team, long trip, late kick-off in front of all her friends and family. When you take everything into account I thought she was brilliant. Really pleased to have her here at the club and looking forward to working with her in the future.”
Smith is pleased to see improvement especially in key areas including possession, controlling the game, and creating chances but hopes his side can start securing more points on the board as a result of this.
“We’re building every week in terms of performances, there’s always going to be a few hiccups on the way. Certainly, to where we were six/seven weeks ago to the type of football we played against Perth, dominating possession, and controlling large parts of the game and creating many more chances than we have done in the past is very pleasing. We need to start getting some reward for our dominance.”
MATCH DETAILS
Liberty A-League Women 2023/24 – Round 14: Western Sydney Wanderers vs Brisbane Roar
Marconi Stadium, Sydney
Saturday, 27 January (4:00pm KO)
