Nigel Greenwood said Preston North End Women had to tweak the way they played to seal what ultimately proved to be a comprehensive 4-0 win against Sir Tom Finney Ladies.
The Lilywhites led by one goal at the halfway stage but had left been frustrated by their counterparts, with the side named in honour of Preston’s greatest son earning praise from Greenwood in his post-match comments.
Former North End striker Greenwood explained that PNE looked to adapt the way they played in the second half, which led to another three goals and a comfortable 4-0 win – with Lucy Swift and Charlotte Greenwood scoring two goals each.
Greenwood told PNE.Com: “Credit to Sir Tom Finney who worked hard at their shape and they really stifled us. We like to play a certain way and we couldn’t do that. At 1-0 at half-time, the word was to be patient and things would open up.
“We changed it a little bit to play balls over the top for Lucy Swift, we used her pace and we did get in behind, Hannah Cubbin got in behind a few times for us as well.
“It worked for us and it turned out to be a decent result. Credit to Sir Tom Finney for making a decent game of it.”
Greenwood was pleased to see attacking players adding to their goal tally in the win.
“It’s an old saying that winning is a habit. We said at half-time the carrot was there for them to be another win, it’s the winning run and keeping that going. We’ve got to keep it going and see where it takes us.
“We’ve got goals in us from all angles to be honest, even down to the defence who pop up now and then again. There are four or five players who are scoring regularly which is always a good thing.”
The women’s team are next in action against Penwortham Town Ladies this weekend – a side that inflicted defeat upon the Lilywhites early in the campaign.
But Greenwood feels PNE have improved significantly since then and hopes they can earn a more positive result when facing Penwortham again this time around.
“We couldn’t believe that game when we played them early on. They didn’t have a shot on goal all game but won 1-0 through an own goal. It was a really strange game.
“Things have got a lot better for us and we’re definitely a stronger team than when we played them the first time.
“It’s a local derby for us, both teams know each other well so it’s what we make of it – there are no easy games, it’s what you make of it. If we turn up with the right attitude we should get a result.”
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