Skinner: Derby victory is the model performance
Marc Skinner believes Manchester United's Continental Cup victory against City should be the model for future performances.
The United Women manager was delighted with the work rate shown by his players at Leigh Sports Village on Wednesday night.
The Reds had gone behind early on to a stunning strike from Vicky Losada, but settled into the game and finished victors after goals from Ivana Fuso and Ona Batlle in either half.
Both goals were the result of good pressing, in the first instance by Kirsty Hanson, and in the second by Batlle herself.
"Tonight they've been mesmerising and I can't tell you how proud I am of them," Skinner explained to MUTV post-match.
Report: United Women 2 City 1
ArticleOna Batlle's persistence pays off as the Spanish full-back scores the winner in our Continental Cup derby.
"You can tell I'm energised by what they've done. It feels that the players have woken up to what we're asking them to do with their energy and commitment. The talent is there, the quality is there, and they have this fight and spirit. They've shown it before, and we're gonna continue to keep showing it. I want consistency in that.
"The message is consistency now. How you approach the game should be like that every time. There's gonna be a million things we show them from just running that extra five yards at high speed that puts the opponent under the pressure they need."
Fuso's goal was her second of the season in the Conti Cup, having also scored in our first group stage game against Durham. The Brazilian international has endured injury heartbreak on three occasions in the last year and has worked hard to keep a positive mindset and come back with a bang.
"A special mention to Ivvy," Skinner said, "because she's had to be patient but I thought she was excellent in what we asked her to do tonight."
"I'm so happy for her because she deserved that and when that moment came, she arrowed it and knew exactly where it needed to be. Just the joy she had on her face, it was great."
Fuso charged over to the bench in celebration, showing the team spirit in this group.
"These things, performances like this, energise the group to go, 'look, what we're doing is working, keep believing, keep working and you'll see where you can go with the outcomes'," Skinner said.
United have little time to recover before facing league leaders Arsenal in the WSL on Sunday. Kick-off is at 12:15 GMT and the match is being shown live on BBC Two for viewers in the UK. Highlights will be shown on MUTV from midday the following day.