Skinner Cheers Seething Defeat as Old Trafford’s Ladies Sink Old Defeats in Women’s League Cup Final失利
“We lost it on moments” – Skinner laments United’s flaws in Women’s League Cup final defeat Manchester United boss Marc Skinner believed his side lost the Women’s League Cup to Chelsea “on moments”, dismissing the idea the Blues outplayed them as they lifted the trophy courtesy of a 2-0 win at Wembley. In their first Women’s League Cup final in their history, Manchester United kept defending champions Chelsea at bay before conceding a cheap goal with Lauren James pouncing on an individual error by centre-back Dominique Janssen. After scooping the domestic treble last term, The Blues’ experience at winning silverware shone through as Agnes Beever-Jones extended the lead in the 77th minute, even though United were not swiftly swept aside.
United boss, Skinner, drew comparisons to when his side narrowly missed out on a second major trophy in last season’s 2-1 FA Cup final loss to Chelsea. He said: “I think that’s the difference between these games for us. We’re losing these, I remember last year, the FA Cup final, we lost it on moments, we lost it on a penalty before half-time, a free-kick, and then obviously the last one was a counter attack.
“I don’t think they’ve beaten us today. In terms of the result they’ve beaten us, but I don’t think they outplayed us by any means. ” Although Sonia Bompastor’s decorated career in management would have made it hard to topple the Blues from the outset, Skinner insisted his side were not tentative.
“Someone said to me the other day, ‘Do we fear Chelsea? ’ There’s no fear”, he said. “You don’t play the way we played through the thirds if you fear playing against Chelsea.
” Nonetheless, he lamented a lack of aggression when defending, particularly highlighting the space afforded to Chelsea talisman James, who scored the opening goal in this contest against her former club. He added: “There’s some block we need to unlock in both boxes. I think we know how good Lauren James is as a player, but I think we gave her a little bit too much respect today.