Positives for Sheffield United to take from Charlton Athletic defeat says Thompson | OneFootball

Sheffield United head coach Ash Thompson said that there were positives for his side to take from their Barclays Women’s Championship fixture against Charlton Athletic, despite going down 1-0 at Bramall Lane last night.

Ellie Brazil netted the only goal of the game for the visitors just before the hour mark. Prior to that moment, Sheffield United looked both comfortable and composed on the ball while they defended resolutely out of possession.

When speaking to WSL Full-Time after the match, Sheffield United boss Thompson said that he saw real positives in his side’s overall performance.

“I thought that first half, we were excellent, we dominated the game and we played some good stuff,” Thompson said. “We didn’t quite knit things together in the final third but for a large part of the game, I was really pleased.

“We’ve probably made one mistake off the ball and fair play, they’re a good side and they’ve capitalised on it but overall, I’m really pleased with the performance.”

While Sheffield United controlled the ball well in possession, they struggled to test Jess Gray in the Charlton Athletic goal. Thompson said that The Blades need to work on the attacking side of their game and that the club are actively looking to add to their forward line.

He said “I said to the players after the game that there’s been one chance and unfortunately, it’s fell to them.

“We know where we are, we know we need to work on what we do in the final third and we’ve still got a little bit of work to do in terms of recruitment in that area, we know that we are a little light on bodies.

“It was fine margins today. We were close, we almost got up to the edge of the box and that’s where it started to break down. We’re not far away from being in a position where we are turning games of dominance into points.”

Sheffield United now turn their attention towards a daunting trip to big-spending Newcastle United next weekend. The Magpies will be heavy favourites to win that match but Thompson says that his Sheffield United side will look forward to the challenge.

He said “If you look at the fixture list, you don’t get easy games in this league. You play Charlton, Newcastle; both teams will be looking at top spot with the investment, the squads that they’ve got. That doesn’t change because then it’s teams like Southampton, London City. We’re not going to have a run of games that are easy games.

“We will look forward to going to Newcastle. I thought there were real positives today but little bits to improve on to make sure that we’re on the right side of the result.”

Sheffield United’s next Barclays Women’s Championship fixture at Newcastle United kicks-off at 2pm on Sunday 22 September 2024.