The Scott Rogers column: City pride and Everton cup test

We returned to action after the break with a great point away at Manchester City last Sunday. I was really pleased with the girls because we worked to a slightly different game plan to the one when we played them at home. We tried to be a little bit more pro-active and aggressive, especially in the first half. We controlled the first part of the game, the girls worked incredibly hard and we thoroughly deserved the point. Rosie White scored a superb goal for us and showed her quality that we know she has in abundance. Rosie scores goals regularly for New Zealand, she did it for us last season and she is a goalscoring midfielder. We have a few players like that at the minute and we are quite fortunate. It was a team performance against City and we were unfortunate not to have scored a second goal. Caroline Weir hit the bar at 1-0 and we felt we maybe should have gone into the break two or three goals up because we did have a couple of clear chances. At 2-0 I feel the game would have been over but Manchester City are a quality side and were always going to have a period of pressure.

To take two points off City has given us a lot of confidence, especially because we know it could have been more than that. I always said the longer we play together and as the season goes on this group will grow stronger. We have a very young group with a few international players in it and we feel if we can keep  this squad together for the next few years and keep progressing and pushing each other then I’m sure we will do very well. Don’t forget for a lot of this season so far we have been without the inured Martha Harris who is a key player for us at the back. Martha is on her way back and isn’t a million miles away now. She is a very talented footballer and a big part of this club’s future. In Martha’s absence other players have stepped up. Sophie Ingle has done so well since I put her alongside Gemma Bonner at the heart of our defence, while Alex Greenwood and Satara Murray have done very well at full-back. Satara is a very good right-back and is showing her quality. In her rightful position at full back, you can see she is a very good footballer.

We now turn our attentions to Saturday’s Continental Cup tie with Everton at the Select Security Stadium in Widnes (kick-off 4pm BST). The format of this competition has changed from last season. There is no longer a group stage and it’s a straight knockout tie with extra-time and penalties if necessary. We have a great chance to reach the quarter-final and we are looking forward to it. This will be my first derby as manager but I have experienced games with Everton in the past during my spell as assistant manager.

We will go into the game as favourites but that is something we have to embrace. Andy Spence will have Everton well organised and they want to beat us. Everton have a lot of talented young players and they have been doing well in the league below. We are expecting a high intensity game and we know what to expect so it could be an interesting evening. I’ve treated Everton with the same respect as I’ve treated every other team in the Women’s Super League. I’ve watched a lot of their games and they have earned our respect because they are doing extremely well. At the same time we’ve got some very talented players in our squad and we’ve caused some of the best teams in the country a lot of problems, so we are hopeful we can do the same against Everton.

Thanks as always for your continued support

Scott