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Casey Stoney wanted his Manchester United side to believe in themselves in the second half of their derby draw with Manchester City after meeting two fewer goals at halftime.
City, who had been relentless in the first 45 minutes, could have been ahead if not for a mix of wayward finishing and good last-minute defense. Coach Gareth Taylor tasked his team with maintaining the same levels of performance, but it turned out that it was the Stoney’s United players who reacted best to his halftime team speech.
“I take full responsibility for the first half,” Stoney told BT Sport. “I think I was wrong with the press, so I had to change that at halftime to make sure that we pressed differently because I think they were taking us away.
“I think the players were amazing in the second half. I think I’m most proud of today, because we were 2-0 down and the mentality changed, we could have quit last year. I think in the end we were unlucky to win it.
“It is not merit for my substitutions, it is merit for them because they come and really apply. Now there is a mentality, a change of mentality. We can go head to head and we can beat the teams. 2-0 against Man City is not a easy feat at halftime and they came out and been a much better team.
“That second-half performance was for our fans, to make sure that we got that result in the Manchester derby that is really important to them.”
Taylor, on the other hand, was understandably pleased with his team’s performance in the first half which saw Chloe Kelly and Laura Coombs score, but less so with the second half as United came off the blocks when Tobin Heath and Kirsty Hanson won a point for United. .
“I thought we looked dangerous, we played through them in the first half, we created numerous opportunities,” Taylor said. “We just needed to keep a few more away. But the effort, the attitude and part of the football that we played in the first half was first class.”
“I’m a bit disappointed with the second half. I think we were in control in the first half, we absolutely dominated the game. You could say we could have been two goals better than we were, we’re probably looking at three or four goals with the opportunities we create.
“But at halftime it was a good situation to be in the implementation of our game in the second period, which I didn’t think we did enough. It’s disappointing, it feels like they lost three points, especially in the command position that we had”. They were in.”
Watch Laura Coombs and Tobin Heath’s goals in the derby on either side of half time:
Going forward, Stoney said that staying at the top of the league, until Arsenal take on Chelsea on Sunday at least, is irrelevant, then added that he has yet to rank United as a title contender.
“That [being top of the table] It doesn’t matter, “Stoney added.” It’s november Even the first half today showed that the last game doesn’t matter.
“It’s about performing and being at that consistent level week after week and we know we can’t concede those kinds of goals and play like we did in the first half and that was enough motivation to make sure we continue to go to the next level.”
Taylor, however, is looking for his team to build a winning run and catch up with United again at the top of the league.
“It’s still early, but we could have gone two points,” Taylor said.
“We seemed comfortable and like it was going to happen. We don’t want the teams to stray too far from us. I’ve always been confident at the highest levels this season that the teams will take points away from each other. It’s disappointing today and we need to make sure. to leave a minimum of points between now and the end of the season. “
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