Simon Wood shares ‘difficult’ Leeds United Women verdict after 3-2 loss v Middlesbrough
Leeds United Women manager Simon Wood has shared his verdict after the “difficult” 3-2 loss against Middlesbrough.
The Whites lost to the FA Women’s National League Division One leaders and now find themselves six points off the top spot in eighth position.
That defeat, unfortunately, brought the teams’ four-game unbeaten streak across all competitions to a halt on Sunday 8 November.
Speaking to LUTV, Wood admitted that his side struggled once they got into the second half of the game.
“For us, it was a game of two halves,” Wood said. “I thought the first half the work rate was phenomenal, we went a goal down and we’ve come back into the game from two set plays that worked well for us.
“The work rate from everyone on the pitch was unbelievable at how hard we grafted into that game at 2-1 just before halftime.
“Second half, we knew Boro would come out against us, I think we probably struggled a little bit to cope with them and their intensity as the game went on.
“They get their second to equalise and they get their third late on which is difficult to come back from and sadly we came up short.”
Leeds United Women lose v Middlesbrough
Despite the season only being four games in, Woods’ team have given themselves a huge mountain to climb if they want to finish higher in the table.
Although Drew Green managed to get her name on the scoresheet during their clash against Halifax Town [LUFC, 31 August] the attacker wasn’t as fortunate this time around as Amy Woodruff managed to bag both of the Whites’ goals.
Should Woods’ team wish to get further up the table they’re going to have to start turning these performances into wins, no matter what.
While it’s all well and good winning against lower-placed teams in the league and in cup competitions, if the West Yorkshire outfit can’t win against those at the top of the table, they’ll end up stranded in the same league season upon season.
Winter is coming thick and fast and if last season is anything to go off, the club will be hoping for significant improvement in their playing surface as countless games were called off due to the pitch being waterlogged last term [Leeds United WFC].
Only time will tell where the Whites end up at the end of the campaign but if they don’t buck their ideas up soon, there could be another poor season on the cards for Woods’ women.
In other Leeds news, the men’s team could make some additions in January to help earn automatic promotion.
For more Leeds news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.