11 hours ago
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Gareth Taylor acknowledges Liverpool Women feel "a little bit aggrieved" following Everton's emphatic victory that marked a sobering beginning to his tenure as head coach.
Despite controlling proceedings during the opening period, the Reds watched their early advantage evaporate as the Blues secured a commanding 4-1 triumph in their Women's Super League derby curtain-raiser at Anfield on Sunday.
Blues newcomer Ornella Vignola bagged a treble while captain Katja Snoeijs also hit the net, reducing an early effort from Liverpool winger Cornelia Kapocs to nothing more than a consolation strike. Taylor, the newly-appointed Reds manager, bemoaned the crucial spell surrounding the interval during which his side conceded three times within 11 minutes.
"Games can just get away from you really, really quickly," he said. "My feelings are strange, really, because I felt in the first half, particularly that first 40 minutes, we were pretty good, probably better than pretty good.
"It was disappointing to concede the (first) goal when we were so dominant, but I felt that the players still, then got a grip of the game. We had lots of opportunities; we hit the woodwork a few times.
"There are a lot of things that we need to improve, and we need to get better and need to get fitter. The message to the players has been really positive, but we've got to really stick to what we do.
"We've probably felt a little bit aggrieved, but the second half is a more of an even affair where Everton have come into it a lot more feeling that confidence when you're 4-1 up.
"There are a lot of positives, although they won't feel that way for the players at this moment."
Taylor reiterated his plea for patience as he works to reshape a team that welcomed four new members on transfer deadline day.
"We knew we weren't going to be able to come in and affect things really, really quickly," he said. "I was actually probably more surprised in the first half at how well we did play.
"This is not a short-term project, but we don't want to receive scorelines like that. I told the players we were outstanding for 44 minutes. It was during the extra four minutes where we had the issue.
"It's going to be important to find a way to adapt until you can get to a point where you can play for 90 minutes the way you want. We are adapting, but it's tough.
"We understand at some point that there's going to be a little bit of give because players tend to go back to their old habits a little bit, and, obviously, fitness levels are important as well.
"We're making compromises to what we do and how we want to see the game. I'm fine with that. I'm not crazy enough to think this style that I believe in is going to be like magic straight away. I think it takes time and belief, and making errors.
"It's all part of it, unfortunately."
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