Beard: We're beating our targets
After guiding his Liverpool Ladies team to a handsome 4-1 derby victory over neighbours Everton on Tuesday, manager Matt Beard explained that the women's side is performing above expectations.
The Ladies have now won four of their five league fixtures to date and top the fledgling Women's Super League standings; next up for Beard's charges is a home encounter with Birmingham on Saturday evening.
Ahead of Father's Day, a special promotion is available for the match, which kicks off at 7.15pm BST at Halton Stadium - dads can purchase tickets at half-price and bring their children along for £1 each.
Beard previewed the clash and reflected on the Ladies' performances so far this season in an interview with LFC TV on Wednesday; read on for a full transcript of the chat.
Click here to read about Saturday's pre-Father's Day promotion>>
Congratulations on a fantastic result last night - you must be delighted with that win over Everton...
Last night was going to be the toughest of the three games we've got, especially with it being a derby and at Everton. But the performance from start to finish was fantastic. For the first time over the course of 90 minutes, I was pleased with what we did throughout the whole game. It was a great performance.
You've had a really good start to the season so far but this is the first time you've felt that everything has come together in one performance...
We've been playing well in bits and bobs in games. Last night, Everton came out and started really well - we dealt with in the first five or 10 minutes. After that we played some fantastic football, we got the goal through Nicole and their goalkeeper made two or three good saves in the first half as well. It was a completely dominant performance. If I'm going to be critical of one thing, it was the way we conceded the goal; it was a counter from our corner, which was disappointing. But the pleasing thing was the character the players showed - they never panicked, they kept playing our game and we eventually ran out comfortable winners.
You had a bit of a situation going into the game with your goalkeeper, though?
We've had a few injury worries this week, especially with the international break that we've just had. Katrin came back with a pulled hamstring so she's out - she was out last night and again this weekend. Both goalkeepers have hurt their knees so we signed Rachel Laws on emergency loan. To be fair to Rachel, considering she only met the players in the dressing room before the game she put in a fantastic performance. It was pleasing.
It was in front of a really good crowd, around 1,100 on the night - that must give the girls a boost?
The crowds have been good throughout this year anyway, but it was a great atmosphere last night. There were quite a few Liverpool supporters there, which was really pleasing. Hopefully the ones that came saw the football that we play, the commitment and passion the players have got, and will come to our game on Saturday night at Halton.
You're hoping to carry that crowd forward and it's a special night on Saturday - a Father's Day promotion. Tell us a bit more about how people can get involved...
We're having a father, daughter, son day at the ground, where the kids can get in for £1. The season ticket holders and members get into our games for free anyway, and then the dads can come in at half-price if they are not members or season ticket holders. Women's football is a family game; what you see from the players is complete honesty, on and off the pitch. The football that we're playing is good. Saturday is going to be a big test for us as well because Birmingham are one of the stronger teams in the country - so it will be a fantastic game to come and watch. It will be a good evening for the families, especially with the weather as it is, to come and watch the game and hopefully cheer us on to another three points which would leave us top of the league going into the mid-season break.
This is a very different Liverpool Ladies team than we've seen in recent seasons. This is a team that genuinely feels they can challenge for the league this season and go on to have great success...
We're going to keep our feet grounded and on the floor. We've had a very good start to the season; we've had two good cup runs as well so far. The most important thing is that when we set our targets for the first half of the season it was to be there and thereabouts. I think we're a little bit ahead of what our targets were - it's in our hands now. We'll review the first half of the season and make sure that we continue to improve and progress week in, week out. And we'll also maybe use this break as an opportunity to see if we can strengthen the squad as well.
Do you feel there is still scepticism around women's football, or do you feel that attitudes are changing?
The attitudes are changing - the Olympics helped that and the BBC's coverage now with their highlights shows and especially on the web. The Olympics was a massive factor, I think that was a turning point for us. When Great Britain beat Brazil 1-0 at Wembley that was a turning point for us, because there were 70,000 people watching the game. If you read all the comments about the game, some prefer it to the men's because of the honesty of the players. You don't get players rolling around on the floor, you don't get players diving - it's a committed performance from the players and an honest performance as well. Technically, the players are just as good. The only difference, in my opinion, is probably the pace and the power. Anyone coming to watch us would be pleasantly surprised.
Your message for people who maybe haven't been before but could be looking to go at the weekend would be that it's a family day out and give it a try...
Definitely - I think they would be pleasantly surprised with the quality of football that will be on offer, especially from the two teams that will be playing. It will be a good game to come and watch.
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