Leeds United Women will be keen to bounce back from their opening day defeat against Huddersfield Town, as they travel to the West Coast to face AFC Fylde this weekend.
Despite a positive display from the Whites in their FAWNL Division One North curtain raiser, Simon Wood’s side were left frustrated as the Terriers snatched victory at the Bannister Prentice Stadium.
Ahead of the trip to Fylde, defender Lucy Turner believes the squad can use the disappointment from last time out as they look to get off the mark this time around.
“I think the performance spoke for itself, I don't think it was really deserving of a 2-0 defeat,” explained the centre-back. “I think we had a lot of chances and just probably weren't clinical enough in the final third.
“Maybe fitness came into play a little bit, which is something that we will obviously work on in the start of the season. It’s just like gelling as a team really, we had four or five new faces and we still need to work on things in training.
“I think all in all it was positive even though we were disappointed to be on the wrong end of a loss for the first game. I do think there was a lot we can take from it.
“We have worked a lot around a new formation which we didn't play at all last year so that’s something that obviously takes time. I think there are elements of being more together as a team and working together which is something that has been instilled throughout pre-season.
“I think maybe tempo is something that we’ve introduced, trying to play more one-two touch all over the pitch and being confident to take risks.
“But I think everyone, even though they were down after a defeat on Sunday, reflecting on it and watching the game back, there were a lot of positives to take from all over the pitch which we'll just take into this weekend.”
Like Huddersfield, Fylde were unable to escape the drop from the Northern Premier Division last campaign, and Turner knows the Coasters will offer another tough test on Sunday.
“It's a similar opposition, obviously they've come down from tier three so it will be another difficult game and I know they have recruited well also.
"It is getting more competitive in this league which obviously makes every fixture difficult and I think we have a run of games at the start of the season which are probably going to be the most difficult games that we’re going to face.
“It's a good test, it’s good to put feelers out in the league and get decent results so I think we’re even more motivated to go in at the weekend and hopefully get a positive result out of it because we know how good we can be and what we do need to challenge for those top spots in the league.
“We just need to make sure that we're doing all we can to put ourselves in and amongst it, amongst the top of the table and just kind of taking each game as it comes. It’s a first away trip as well so it will be nice to get on the coach and have a bit of team bonding with the girls, and hopefully come back with a win.”
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