Alex Miller post-Wakefield: “Some positives to take… but also some key areas of improvement to take”

Alex Miller reflected on a difficult game for South Shields Women against second-place Wakefield AFC Women on Sunday in the NERWFL Premier Division.

Eve Gatens’ superbly-driven free-kick in the 35th minute gave the lasses the lead, which they would hold for only 10 minutes when the second half started, before squandering the match and losing 4-1.

But the goal was representative, she said, of what the team can be capable of: “Eve is a top class player who is an asset to the team. The free kick was just a snippet of what Eve and the rest of the players on this team are capable of.

“This was evident in the first half of the game when we dominated the play and created multiple scoring opportunities.

“However, we failed to capitalise on these chances and it cost us dearly in the second half.”

Wakefield were unbeaten in four matches heading into Sunday’s fixture, and Miller knew from South Shields’ last encounter with them (a 2-4 away win having been 0-3 up at half-time, in February) that the second half would always be difficult.

“We knew going into the game through previous meetings with Wakefield and their recent results, that they usually perform stronger in the second half,” she continued.

“The half time talk was centred around this and the importance of remaining organised and composed was stressed.

“Disappointingly, the expectations did not correlate with the performance on the pitch during the second half.

“Our usual high standards dropped significantly and this left us vulnerable to the attacking talents that Wakefield possess.”

But she ended on a resolved note as the team prepare to come back and work towards another key match in the girls’ campaign.

“Ultimately it was a disappointing result overall,” she explained,” “with some positives to take from the first half, but also some key areas of improvement to take from the second half.

“We will regroup and work hard this week to regain our high standards in time for our next fixture against Wallsend BC.”

The girls are back in action on Sunday, April 2 against Wallsend BC Women with fixture details to be confirmed later in the week.