Source: Coventry MAD
Source: FOOTYMAD
We Failed To Match Their Intensity - Nicholls
City Ladies Boss On Defeat To Gillingham Craig Nicholls admitted his side failed to match the “intensity” of Gillingham, as the league leaders inflicted a 4-0 defeat on Coventry City. Fliss Gibbons gave the Gills the lead in the opening minutes, before Danielle Carlton, Jade Keogh and Lauren Williams added to the scoreline before half-time. It was Coventry’s biggest loss since a 5-0 home defeat to Derby County in November 2010. “I can't take anything away from Gillingham as they played some excellent football in the first-half. I don't like making excuses but the first goal was a definite push on Hayley Ladd and from then on we went into our shell a little bit. “They were a lot busier than us and we were unable to match their intensity. But we spoke at half-time about a few things tactically and mentally. The main thing was to have a bit of pride in ourselves and show that we can compete.” The defeat pushed the Sky Blues down to seventh in the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division table, with the prospect of four consecutive away matches to come in the league. Gillingham, the only unbeaten team in the league, are now three points clear at the top of the table having scored a sensational 19 goals in their six games so far. Coventry face struggling Chesham United on Sunday, before travelling to take on Charlton Athletic the following week. Nicholls then takes his team to Derby County, as they look to secure a place in the next stage of the FA Women’s League Cup. He firmly believes that the fixtures that lie ahead will offer the perfect chance to make up ground on the teams above them. “After the game we spoke as a group about a few different things and it was good to get a few opinions on what went wrong,” he stated. “However the reality is that we have played all the top sides in the league so far and we have plenty of opportunities for points over the coming weeks.”
