“We did it really well…we found a good balance” – Renée Slegers on emphatic opening victory | OneFootball

Renée Slegers spoke to the media following her side’s dominant win over London City Lionesses.

“They did what we expected but we lacked a little bit of a connection on the pitch. It is the first game back but what I’m really happy with, is how we connected really quickly. We planned certain things but we just needed to adjust a few details. What can easily happen is you have a goal against you and you get emotional but we didn’t do that.”

On 18-year-old Katie Reid, she commented, “We believe in Katie Reid and she has been really impressive at Arsenal. From what we have seen, we kept her in. She has a lot of qualities that we want in a centre-back but we know she is young and needs to build experience. A credit to Katie and the rest of the team she kept playing and came back. That shows strength I think.”

“With young players who have a growth mindset, their development can be quick if they are open to learning and humble. She is that type of personality. She has had some great role models so she has learned a lot. Also, she brings a lot of qualities herself. She is fast and has physicality. There are a lot of things we like.”

London City Lionesses were expected to be disruptive, and they were, in the first twenty minutes of the game. “The way they play and the way they set-up is really hard to play against. It’s a fine line between solving that, we had to get used to it and get into the rhythm. When we did that I think we did it really well. We found a good balance. I think LCL are still building. They have a lot of new players.”

On Olivia Smith’s debut goal, she said, “It’s very special. It was a fantastic individual action, and a lot of players had good actions but of course people come to the stands to watch good goals. But hopefully they appreciate everything else as well. We’re very happy to have Olivia with us.

Slegers is known for her calmness on the sidelines, but today, there were nerves. “I don’t get nervous so often but this one I felt because it is the first one in a long time and it is an opposition I don’t know about, there is referring back to the Champions League trophy, Lia Wälti’s farewell and a lot of things in the stadium. I must admit I had some nerves in my system.”