‘There were lots of positives’ – Taylor pleased with Manchester City’s FA Cup win at Durham | OneFootball

Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor said that there were lots of positives to take from his side’s 4-0 victory at Durham in the fourth round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.

The Cityzens cruised through to the fifth round of the competition as they made easy work of second tier Durham at Maiden Castle this afternoon. Jill Roord grabbed a brace while Laura Coombs and Mary Fowler were also on target for the visiting side.

When speaking to WSL Full-Time after the match, Manchester City boss Taylor said that he was pleased with the performance and that there were plenty of positives to take away.

“We started the game well, Laura Coombs scored a great goal, a well-taken finish,” Taylor said. “We had two real high moments of quality in the two goals. I was probably just a little bit niggled at half-time that we could have had more, we were a little bit wasteful with our decision-making in the final third. The five-minute period of sustaining pressure around their box after the first goal was really impressive.

“In the second half, we managed the game well. We made some changes and felt that we found Jill [Roord] a lot more in the pocket which was probably down to Laia’s [Aleixandri] positioning playing a bit higher.

“There were a lot of positives today on a tricky surface, you never know what you are going to face. I think we probably played on one of the better weather days here today.”

Manchester City’s attacking play was relentless and they scored some exceptional goals. Taylor went on to discuss the goals and he was particularly pleased to see Fowler get on the scoresheet.

He said “They were [of a high quality]. Jill [Roord] has obviously bagged a couple today which was important and Chloe [Kelly] was involved in the build-up of the first two goals. I’m pleased for Laura [Coombs] who has been working so hard in training with her finishing to get the goals and hopefully, it’s a big confidence-booster for Mary [Fowler], she’s such a top talent.

“To be able to bring on the likes of Jess Park and Mary Fowler, two top players who can really influence games….Mary has got so much to give, we just need to get her back into a really good place and hopefully, that’ll give her confidence.”

Manchester City will now go into tomorrow night’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup fifth round draw with Taylor keen to be handed a home tie. He also took time to praise the travelling fans for their efforts in following the team to Durham.

“A home draw would be nice,” he said. “It’s a bit different for us to come up north but it has been a good experience and we appreciate our supporters travelling because it’s not an easy journey. The supporters were great and the Durham supporters were respectful as well.”

The Adobe Women’s FA Cup fifth round draw is scheduled to take place at 7.30pm on Monday evening.