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London City Lionesses head coach Melissa Phillips and defender Lois Heuchan spoke to reporters on Thursday [19 January].
Here is every word Phillips and Heuchan said about the Lionesses’ emphatic win over Crystal Palace and this weekend’s trip to promotion rivals Bristol City.
Melissa Phillips, Head Coach:
On the impact of London City’s win over Crystal Palace:
“It’s business as usual this week. There is obviously a lot of belief in the group after a fantastic performance at the weekend. We talked about how much desire to win we displayed and what actions [need to] follow.
"We also spoke about what to expect from this weekend’s match and how we can prepare for that. As always, we’re focussed on our own performance and that’s what we’ll do against Bristol City."
On the injury Carly Girasoli suffered last time out:
“We’re hopeful for some positive news this week, but she’s in fantastic care with our medical and performance teams, in addition to her support network around the club. We expect it to be a short-term injury.”
On the importance of spreading the load in the final third:
“I can’t say enough good things about our forward unit. They’re often putting themselves in front of goal with a lot of chances throughout the match and we were able to convert them against Crystal Palace.
“We’ve spent the last month really focussed on our final third. Whether it’s double-movements, balls into space, or finishing, we spent a lot of time on the finer details and you can see that the effort is paying off for our front line.
“They’re certainly capable of scoring a lot of goals and they’ve been productive in terms of the opportunities they have created. We also recently spoke about how there isn’t pressure on any single player to be our marquee scorer because we know goals can come from anywhere in our team.”
On Atlanta Primus’ return from injury:
“It’s great to have Atlanta back in the squad. She spent a little bit of time off after our match against Southampton and we were quite smart about how we managed her return. She’s performing well in training, as she always does, and we expect her to be involved this weekend.”
On her expectations ahead of the Bristol City match:
“We talk about that a lot, in terms of what is the reality and what we need to be prepared for. That’s a topic we had a really healthy discussion around regarding our preparation for Crystal Palace and it’s no different this week.
“We know the occasion. But, at the same time, every match is a big occasion for us. This league is incredibly competitive, so we look forward to playing another high-quality game at the weekend.
“There are obviously things that we can take into our control, including how we travel and prepare on the pitch, but we know it’s always been a high-level match when we play against Bristol City. We expect it to be the same this time around and are looking forward to the opportunity.”
Lois Heuchan, Defender:
On the atmosphere at Princes Park after last weekend’s win:
“The mood in the camp is very positive. The Crystal Palace game instilled a lot of belief in us and showed that we can accomplish big things together. We’re all just very excited to see what the rest of the season holds.”
Follow @londoncitylionesses on Instagram for exclusive photo and video content:
On her assist versus the Eagles:
“Everyone wants to score and add assists, so it feels nice to be able to help the team in that way."
On the team’s trip to the Robins High Performance Centre:
“There’s not much between us at this point, but we take each match one a time and trust the process that are coaches provide. We’re really focussing on ourselves, but we know Bristol City are a really good team.”
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