Jane Ross

Casey: Jane changed the game for us

Monday 03 May 2021 10:53

Manchester United Women’s head coach Casey Stoney was pleased with the impact of striker Jane Ross during Sunday's 1-0 victory over Bristol City in the Women's Super League.

The Reds triumphed 1-0 in a hard-fought game against the Robins, with Stoney’s side needing 78 minutes to find a way through the bottom side’s defence, courtesy of a late own goal.

Unfortunately, as Arsenal won their match against Everton this weekend, our hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League are effectively over as the Gunners have a far superior goal difference going into the last WSL game of the campaign.

Highlights: Bristol City 0 United Women 1 Video

Highlights: Bristol City 0 United Women 1

Check out our winning goal and all the key moments from the Reds' triumph at Twerton Park...

In her post-match interview with MUTV, the boss emphasised that her team improved after the interval following a rocky start at Twerton Park in Bath.

"Like I said before, they were fighting for their lives, so it was always going to be a dangerous game," Casey said.

"Again, it’s a surface we could have adapted better to, it was a difficult surface in terms of the way it played. But, having said that, I think some of our basis could have been better and we were lucky, if I’m honest, to go in at half-time with [the score] 0-0. They had two really good chances."

In particular, the head coach was impressed with Ross who played a big role in our winning goal. Christen Press’s low cross towards our no. 19 was turned into her own net by Robins defender Yana Daniels, following pressure from the Scotland international.

"Second half I thought we adapted a bit more. I thought Jane Ross came on and made a difference," Casey said.

"Christen did really well for the goal. Off the back of that I thought we created some good chances and didn’t take them but listen, I said to them that the only thing I care about is getting back on that bus with three points and we found a way to win on a difficult day."

Jane herself was pleased with the positive feedback from Casey but insisted she was just doing her job.

"Yeah, I mean, that is obviously the role of the game-changers in general," she said after her 11th WSL appearance of the campaign.

"I think, for any player coming onto the pitch, to be able to have an impact in the game and help us get the three points, that’s important."

The 31-year-old shares the view of her coach that the Reds improved as the game got on.

"It’s a difficult pitch to play on, to be honest, to play the style of football that we want to play. It was difficult, it’s a two-touch pitch for sure. In the second half we came out a bit more positive and created quite a few chances."

Our final WSL game of the season is against Everton at Leigh Sports Village on May 9.

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