Dan McNamara said his Wolves Women side were lucky to come away with a point following a 2-2 draw against Watford in the WSL 2.
Charlotte Greengrass’ equaliser from the penalty spot came after a Watford fightback following Georgia Marshall’s header, which gave the Old Gold an early lead.
The result meant Wolves maintained their unbeaten home start to the season and sit in fifth place going into the international break.
McNamara gave his thoughts on the performance of the team and Marshall and Tammi George’s displays while also touching on Wolves’ start to life as a WSL 2 club.
On the performance
“I'm disappointed with the performance, but overall, I think we got away with one. I think one team will get on the coach and think they should have won the game, and they [Watford] probably should have.
“So what was probably disappointing to think about getting a point [before kickoff]; I think we're probably delighted with it now with the way the game ends.
“And look, that's not like us. I can't quite put my finger on what it was. We look tired in certain moments. We weren't able to deal with their formation in moments, which we've prepped for all week. But sometimes that happens; it just doesn't click.
“We weren't very well connected today. I thought there were moments where individuals went and tried to do things that we didn't plan for, and we’ve got to be better in those moments.
“At this level, if you make mistakes, you get punished, and I can't keep saying it every week. But the girls are giving us their all; they're trying, they're working hard, so we've got to take it on the chin and move on.”
On the performances of Georgia Marshall and Tammi George
“[It’s] brilliant for her. Her first WSL 2 goal, I’m delighted for Georgia [Marshall]. I thought she was magnificent again today, and she picks up the player of the match trophy.
“I thought Tammi [George] was brilliant to come in after such a layoff from playing. I thought she was excellent. That's what she does. She fights, she shows good desire, she pops up in areas where you don't expect her to.
“So I thought those two were really good. [They] really imposed themselves on the game. But well done to Georgia on her goal, but I think there are 3 or 4 box entries in that first half that we have to be better and we have to be more ruthless.”
On how the players are adapting to new challenges every week
“We're learning every week. As I said, Watford do what they do, and have done for a long time, and they do it very well.
“We've got to keep adapting to different tactical styles, different formations throughout the season. In the game, you've got to be switched on in every moment, but we'll learn every week.
“The girls are applying themselves. They are, and we could be in a far worse position
“We've got seven points on the board from five games. [We have a ] bit of a break now; let them [the players] reset. We’ll keep fighting, keep making sure we're doing the right things, and I'm sure eventually we'll get where we need to.”
On Wolves’ start to the season
“I think if we went through the season and got seven points from every five games, we probably would be in a good place come the end of the season. I think that would be enough to keep us up.
“But football doesn't work like that because if it did, it would be really easy. So we have to keep fighting, we have to keep working hard, we have to keep listening, we have to keep doing everything we can to squeeze every moment and every little bit out of the girls because it will take a lot for us to achieve what we want to this year.
“[This game] has shown again today that there are top players at every club. There are top clubs right across the league - we weren't quite at it and we get punished.
“So let's hope we can learn from it. Let's hope we can do some good stuff over the international break and make sure we see a different Wolves than what we saw today against Ipswich.”
On what the international break will look like for the players
“There'll be some days off in there. I probably owe them some days off. There will be normal training. We'll have a couple of in-house games that will keep the girls fit, but mostly we'll just keep planning and keep working towards what will be a brilliant occasion to host Ipswich here in the Players Cup.
“Then attention towards Bristol City to try and get some points against them, which would be really tough down at Ashton Gate. So we’ve just got to keep it as normal as possible and keep working on it.”
