Liverpool analysis with football broadcaster, Harriet Prior

As we host Liverpool this weekend for Sunday’s first home game of the season in the Women’s Super League at Brisbane Road (2pm UK), Liverpool fan Harriet Prior, who covers the club for The Anfield Wrap, gives us her insight into our opponents.

Using the international break

“There was a bit of disappointment because the Welsh team didn’t qualify, but apart from the Irish players there weren’t that many that went on international duty. It was quite a good opportunity for Liverpool to regroup after the Everton game and the disappointment of that result. It was a good chance for Matt Beard to regroup with those who didn’t go away. 

“Leanne Kiernan is injured now, so it’s about trying to find solutions and how we play without her. That’s probably the biggest blow from the start of the season so far. Hopefully Matt will have come up with some solutions over the international break for how we’re going to move forward now he’s had a bit of time to re-work everything.”

‘Everyone was writing Liverpool off’

“I went to the Chelsea game and the atmosphere was great. It really felt like the players believed in themselves and they were going up against the hardest team in the WSL - the champions who had been on such an unbeaten run. For them to come to newly promoted Liverpool at Prenton Park, everyone was writing Liverpool off and actually they stayed in the game the whole way through. 

“When I spoke to some of the players in pre-season, they really wanted to make the point that, although they might not be winning every single game, what they want to do is make sure that, come 90 minutes, they were in every single one. They want to be competitive and not just be there to make up numbers. 

“That’s what you saw in the Chelsea game. They were putting in a fight and they believed. Even when they conceded a really early goal, from there I thought it was going to go downhill quite quickly, but they stayed in it and kept fighting. They worked so hard and got their luck and their penalties and got back into the game. 

“From there to the Everton game, which was a disappointing result, especially in front of such a crowd at Anfield. It was such an occasion but I think they struggled with Everton’s press a bit and tried to play out from the back and got caught. They got caught from a set-piece as well with Everton scoring from a corner. 

“They struggled with the pace of that game and the way they were closed down by Everton, so for them now moving forward, it’s about working out a way to effectively play out from the back and find the spaces. When they did break and it worked, they managed to get the ball out from the back and found a few gaps and spaces. 

“It’s a mixed start to the season and it will be interesting now to see how they get on in the upcoming period because there’s been a high high and a low low.”

Conti Cup opportunities

“I think there’s loads of really exciting young talent and in that competition especially you get a chance to see some of them. I wasn’t actually at that game against Sunderland unfortunately so probably can’t comment too much on it, but what Matt Beard is trying to do, as you’ve seen over the transfer window, is bring in a really nice mix of younger talent and combine that with some of the new WSL talent they’ve brought in. 

“Gilly Flaherty is one that springs to mind who they brought in over the summer, who can really teach those younger and more inexperienced players. She has so much WSL experience. They’ve got this nice balance now of people who have been there a long time like Niamh Fahey, who is captain, and Rachel Furness of course. 

“Players like Hannah Silcock coming through can learn so much from them and hopefully they’ll be really bright stars for the future. In the short term, they’ll look to consolidate their position in the WSL and in the long term they want to be competing, so those younger players coming through will be key to that.”

Played for both

“Furness is such a popular figure at Liverpool. She’s a real personable player and I think that whenever you watch her play live or whenever she’s on the sidelines - and she doesn’t start as many games now perhaps because of her age and the way that the team is evolving - but she’s always interacting with the fans. 

“She’s such a popular person in the stands and whenever she comes on she manages to make a real impact. What she does is really raise the game of other players around her because of the effort she puts in and the commitment she has, going into tackles, tracking back and working really hard. She’s definitely a really popular figure. 

“I think that’s one thing you can see this season from her and from a lot of the players is that they all seem to be working really well and gelling as a unit and I think that’s really translated to their connections and relationships on the pitch as well.”

‘I’d love to see more games at Anfield’

“Especially off the back of the Euros, it was actually a really good time for Liverpool’s women’s team to be back in the WSL. I think there is a sense of real disappointment that they were in that league for two seasons. I think one would’ve been enough and then we hopefully would’ve come straight back up. It didn’t work that way. It was a bit more of a slog and a challenge than many fans expected it to be, but actually now they’ve come back to the WSL at a time when the popularity for women’s football is just soaring and everyone’s riding the wave off the back of the Euros, which is really great. 

“The Anfield game was just a culmination of all that interest and all that excitement around women’s football, especially around Liverpool’s women’s team. Moving forward, I’d love to see more games at Anfield because there is a real interest in it and lots of people want to come to watch them. 

“You only have to look at the first game I went to this season at Prenton Park - last year you could drive there about 15 minutes before the game and walk in. This year, it’s a completely different ball game. They’ve opened the main stand now, whereas before they only opened The Kop End behind the goal, so there’s obviously more interest in tickets. 

“It’s a nice family occasion as well. What I saw in the first home game was so many people there with young families and there was a really nice atmosphere at the game, so it’s great to see how it’s progressing and I hope we can just keep on building on that because the only way is up from here.”

Spurs on Sunday

“I’m excited about it. I think Tottenham will be a good test for them because I think they’ve had two really different opponents in Chelsea and Everton, where the occasion maybe got a bit too much. I think Tottenham will be a really good test for them to see actually where they’re at and measure a bit of consistency to see whether they can get through a game in a measured and calm way. That’s maybe, in both of the WSL games, what we really need to see coming through now. 

“The manager is doing such a good job. Matt Beard is such a talented manager who has won the WSL with Liverpool before. Him coming back, he knows the league really well and the threats that Tottenham pose. I think he’ll be the best person to set up Liverpool to deal with that. It will be interesting how they set up because they’ve been quite defensive in recent games playing five at the back and making sure they have that solidity. I’d like to see a little bit more going forward, but the absence of Leanne Kiernan does make it a bit more difficult.”