Matt Beard was full of praise for January signing Fuka Nagano after the midfielder helped to inspire an impressive Liverpool comeback against Tottenham in the Women's Super League.
The Reds fell behind through Rosella Ayane's 17th-minute strike before Emma Koivisto's deflected effort restored parity at Prenton Park. Missy Bo Kearns then capitalised on a spell of Liverpool pressure by slotting what turned out to be the winning goal on the 35-minute mark.
It was Nagano's composure inside the penalty area, though, that proved decisive in the build up; the Japan international playing a sublime ball through to Koivisto who cut the ball back into Kearns' path. It was yet another example of the Nagano's excellent pedigree, with Matt Beard once again effusive about the 24-year-old's quality.
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"I thought Fuka was excellent for the second goal, the way she slowed it down and just allowed Emma to get in down the right side," the Liverpool boss said. "(Leighanne) Robe said on the bus the other day she’s the best signing Liverpool Women have ever made and what she meant by that is her personality.
"Her personality is unbelievable and we’re starting to see her come out of her shell a little bit. She’s just a technician, she creates so much for us. She’s a great person and she’s a wonderful football player. She’s only 24 so she’s only going to get better as well so it's exciting for us."
Reflecting on his side's overall performance against Spurs, he added: "I thought we were excellent. Especially in the first half, I thought we absolutely dominated with and without the ball.
"We should have had the game sewn up at half time. We had two really good chances to go in front, we didn’t take them and then they have one opportunity and score but that’s football.
"Second half, I think we showed a resilient side. I thought Katie Stengel and Rachael Laws were outstanding but it was a good team performance. Its been a tough few weeks with the injuries we've but we’ve shown togetherness and character within the group. It’s a big three points."
Liverpool now have nearly two weeks to recover before they take on Everton in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. Brian Sorensen's side beat the Reds 3-0 in the reverse fixture at Anfield in September, but Beard is hopeful his ranks will be bolstered by the return of some key players for the clash on March 24.
"I think Jas (Matthews) and Niamh (Fahey) might be on their way back and Shanice (van de Sanden) is making good progress," he said. "Leanne (Kiernan) is back out running which is good and she’s had no reaction to that which is the first time that’s happened but she’s probably still eight/nine weeks away.
"All of the girls are working really hard to get back and fingers crossed we’ll have some bodies back for the derby."
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