Oxtoby rues first-half display in loss to league leaders | OneFootball

United found themselves 2-0 down at half-time against the WSL2 table-toppers, but a double change at the break and an Oona Sevenius goal saw the Lasses command large portions of the second-half - albeit they were unable to take a positive result back to the North East.

Despite the result, Oxtoby was able to take a handful of positives into a new week of training, coupled with some valuable lessons from their match against the Addicks.

"In the first half, our decision-making with the ball caused us problems," Oxtoby said post-match. "We know that structurally, they are a team who are tough.

"We played into their hands by giving the ball away in areas we knew they were going to be dangerous.

"I wanted us to be more patient and make Charlton work a little bit more, to allow us to get into shape and exploit our patterns."

After some small changes, however, Oxtoby saw her side come out for the second half looking much more competitive and pinning back the Addicks, although familiar issues continue to hamper United.

"We tweaked a few things at half time, and in the second half, we adjusted our shape to try and get numbers higher up as well," she explained.

"I think all the finishers that came off the bench impacted that game, and that's what we ask of them, and of course, it's going to take a whole squad to achieve success.

"But I think we're saying it every week at this point: in both boxes, for us, are areas we can continue to improve and focus on, and we'll keep working on that until we get it right."

January signings Kaitlyn Torpey and Ashanti Akpan both made their full debuts for the club at The Valley, albeit the former's came in unfortunate circumstances.

Oxtoby added: "It was tough for them to come into a game like that. We had to make a late change just before the game with Charlotte (Wardlaw) being unwell. So Torpey coming in wasn't the plan, but I thought she did a great job.

"Obviously, Ashanti getting minutes too was great, but again, it's hard to come into a team when you’re not necessarily used to playing the patterns that you want to, and it can be a little difficult.

"But, overall, from their point of view, they will have benefited from getting minutes under their belt."