Toone: We played our football
Manchester United midfielder Ella Toone insists that they key to breaking down West Ham in the second half of our 4-0 win was "playing our football" at Old Trafford.
United’s no.7 gave an honest assessment of the first half, which ended 0-0, telling Sky Sports: “We made it more frustrating for ourselves.
“We kept the ball a lot but we weren’t progressing up the field, we weren’t playing with that personality and character we play with every week.
“[In the second half] we came out and we played our football.”
🗣️ "Playing with that energy that we pride ourselves on."
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) March 25, 2023
Ella Toone speaks after Manchester United's 4-0 win over West Ham that takes them to the top of the table. 📈🔴 pic.twitter.com/pEH6GIa7u8
Toone – who assisted Lucia Garcia for the first of her two goals, among the four second-half strikes – revealed what conversations were had in the dressing room after going in at the break level.
“It wasn’t much tactical [talk], it was just [about] ourselves, our personality," Ella continued.
"Playing with that personality, playing with that energy we pride ourselves on. It was more [about] the effort that we gave. It [the half-time message] worked!"
“He [Marc Skinner] lets me play with freedom,” she said. “My best thing is to get in those little pockets of space, get on the half-turn, and face forward.
“That comes right from the back, and our centre-halves did that [finding players] really well today. Wherever the space is, I’ll try and find it, whether that’s wide or inside.”