The delayed commencement to the WSL campaign could not have begun any better when Fran Kirby put the Blues 1-0 up away to Liverpool on Sunday with only three minutes played. The spot-kick story did not end there however, as the Reds netted two of their own to run out 2-1 winners, despite having just 30 per cent of the play.

The first chance to begin to make amends for that defeat comes this Sunday at Kingsmeadow, when our perennial challengers for silverware Manchester City will be the visitors.

‘I’m disappointed with the result, disappointed with the way we conceded goals from two penalty situations, but we need to be mindful that we have great players and we have to focus on what we do in training this week, to make sure we get the details right going into the next game against Manchester City,’ was Hayes reaction to the Liverpool game.

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‘I know our fans are amazing and we need their support next week,’ she added. ‘We’re disappointed but I know how much this team over the years has the ability to recover quickly, and I’m sure we’ll do that this week.’

Delving deeper into Sunday’s game, Hayes lamented the decision to rule out a Sam Kerr goal that would have made the score 2-0, for offside when replays seemed to show our striker had been level with the last defender, but in addition to that, there were aspects of the Chelsea play the manager thought were lacking their usual top standard.

‘Congratulations to Liverpool, it was a great result for them,’ Hayes noted. ‘In the first half we went 1-0 up, then we scored a goal that was legitimately onside. It’s frustrating that someone as quick as Sam gets penalised because we don’t have VAR. I totally appreciate that, but I think had we gone 2-0 up it would have been different.

‘At 1-0 we were always trying to seek the second and third instead of sometimes thinking they have to come out and create a situation. They got their first throw-in, which we knew Megan Campbell was capable of [a long throw], and positionally we got things right but in the execution of that, it bobbled under someone’s foot and then hit a hand and all of a sudden it’s a penalty and it’s a game-changing moment.

‘In the last part of the game, again a throw-in and turnover. I felt Magda could have dealt better with the 50-50 but I wasn’t sure if she was a little apprehensive because she was caught in a head collision earlier. Not dealing with it there then leaves a foot race, which Kadeisha can do better with, she didn’t need to dive in, they were going away from goal. You give the referee an opportunity to call it. Then you’ve got the momentum of the home crowd.

‘For us, our execution in the final third was not anywhere near good enough. Our crossing was wayward, it was out of bounds, we didn’t trouble the keeper in the way that we have done.

‘Our finishing, our final-third play, didn’t trouble them enough because if you don’t get the cross right and into the right areas then you can’t create the chances that you need.’

It was the spell after the early Chelsea goal when a second seemed most likely, with chances less frequent later in the game.

‘You have to recognise in football you’ve got to try to kill the game off when you can,’ stated Hayes.

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