Norwich City Women’s head coach Shaun Howes said that he could not criticise the effort and desire of his players in the 5-0 defeat at home to Hashtag United.
Hashtag are top of the National Women’s League South East Division One, having won 17 of their 20 matches so far this campaign. Howes said the players worked hard enough, but in key moments they didn’t react well enough.
“It was a strange performance because we were 2-0 down after 15 minutes and we were wondering how that happene,” said Shaun. “I thought we started the game really well and we showed great energy, it was just in key moments, in our box and within their box, that we didn’t react well enough.
“I think that was the story of the whole game. We, certainly, worked hard and they (Hashtag) are a very good team and that is why they are top of the league but there were key moments, when we should have done better, that we conceded from.”
Asked what the reaction was like to going 2-0 down inside the opening 15 minutes, Howes said: “They never gave up and the girls have never given up all season. Credit to them. They got a little bit frustrated, so we started doing things that were within our jobs. We started to chase the ball a bit more rather than just calm things down and working ourselves back into the game. We can never question the work ethic or the desire of the girls. Sometimes they use their hearts rather than their heads.”
It is Stevenage away this weekend, a side just below Norwich City in the table. The Canaries are hoping to bag three points to give themselves a chance of avoiding the drop.
“The next four games are massive for us,” added Shaun. “We have got Stevenage, Harlow and then Cambridge City twice. They are must win games. It is still in our hands though and we knew those four games were ones that we could potentially get something out of. Anything we had taken out of the game with Hashtag would have been a bonus. So, Sunday is a real important game for us and for them.”