Manchester United trio Leah Galton, Alessia Russo and Nikita Parris found the back of Tottenham Hotspur's net to secure three points on Sunday, edging the team closer to their aim of winning the Women’s Super League title.
Despite three different goalscorers and a great performances all around for the home side, United Manager Marc Skinner acknowledged three other players in Sunday’s triumphant performance: “Vilde [Boe Risa] did well today, I thought, her and Hayley [Ladd] were really nasty in midfield without kicking but actually straight and shutting down defensively and that was excellent.
“Mary’s [Earps] double save was magnificent. That's the difference, she hasn't touched the ball all game really and then she makes that double save. She helped us out only the way Mary can.”
“And Jayde Riviere coming on as well is a huge factor for us. What people don't know is that we’ve taken this time to embed her but she's a dangerous, dangerous player to play against so our fans will have a world-class player there going forwards but she's got to work every day to make sure she is. So those three stand out, for me.”
Riviere came on for her debut for the club with five minutes left on the clock. Strong in the air to deny Spurs’ Beth England, she showed electric pace when charging down the right flank.
Despite the impressive showing from his team, Skinner still thinks there is another level for them to find. “We made it comfortable, I don’t think we were at our very best though," he said. "I think we gave Tottenham their chances - I don't think they earned them.
“We were a little naive at times. The reason I bring that up is because I'm driving standards, it's the most points we’ve ever achieved in a season, the best clean sheet record I think we’ve equalled today, three different goalscorers and three points so there's loads of magnificent stuff.
“But for us that would be complacent to think that we were the very, very best of ourselves so there are things we can tweak going into the final next week, which will be a different game in itself, but I want to keep us on our toes.
“I enjoy it, I just know what I want to achieve here.”
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