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Head coach Renee Slegers credited her side 5-0 home triumph over Crystal Palace to a much-improved second-half showing at Mangata Pay UK Stadium on Sunday.
Arsenal Women’s head coach Renee Slegers expressed her delight following the team’s dominant 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace Women in their Barclays Women’s Super League clash on Sunday. This win marks Slegers’ first match as permanent head coach, and she couldn’t be happier with the result.
“We looked more like ourselves in the second half,” Slegers said. “I’m super happy with the result. If we could’ve signed for this beforehand, I would. I’m happy with the clean sheet, five goals, and a variety of goals.”
Slegers acknowledged that the team struggled in the first half but praised their improved performance after the break. “We tweaked some details and, when the girls came on, starting with Caitlin Foord, we changed a little bit on the left side in her positioning. The girls made a great impact coming on, the game changers, but mostly I think the girls just needed time together to play and get back into it.”
The early goal from Leah Williamson set the tone for the match, and Slegers highlighted the importance of the early lead. “That was very nice. It gave us a positive entry into the game and I think we gave them a little bit in the first half, some spaces and opportunities. We’ll review that because we have some big games coming up where we have to be even more solid defensively, but we knew that Crystal Palace would come out in the first half aggressively.”
Slegers also had a special message for the Arsenal supporters, thanking them for their unwavering support. “Thanks again for the support today. It was cold. Sorry for the first half, we had to try and get it right, but I think hopefully the second half we brought some good football and some goals. In this first half where we had to get it right, they kept on singing, they kept on supporting. They really helped us today and I know we’ve sold out away sections many times in our away games. They’re amazing and we have some big games coming up now, so it will be great to share all this with them.”
With this victory, Arsenal Women have now won 11 out of 12 games under Slegers’ leadership, and the team is looking forward to the challenges ahead.
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