"Very, very difficult conditions" for SSFC Women says Thackray

Kris Thackray was left disappointed by the manner of South Shields Women’s 3-0 defeat against Bradford City AFC Women on Easter Sunday.

The lasses conceded twice in two minutes during a difficult period in the first-half, but they regained their composure and limited the league leaders to just one goal after the restart. 

“Very, very difficult conditions,” he admitted afterwards.

“The wind, the sun, the hail, and the pitch wasn’t great, but the girls always gave max effort.

“I can’t fault them on that, it was just hard to get the quality out today, to be honest.”

The visitors showed why they are top of the league and their quality shone through on an otherwise difficult afternoon given the weather conditions.

He added: “Bradford are a good side - good credit to them - they scored two goals early in the first-half, which gave us a bit of a hill to climb, but like I said, the girls never stopped trying.

“They just couldn’t find those opportunities and the spaces to create some good chances.”

With the weather looking to improve in the coming weeks, Thackray is hoping the team can use those better conditions to their advantage as they look to finish the season off on a high note.

He finished: “Tough, tough, long day out there for the lasses but the weather’s getting better, the fields are getting better, and I think we’ll look forward to trying to play a little bit more football and enjoying it.

“Not just me, but hopefully it’ll be enjoyable for them with better conditions and getting a few players back from injury as well.”

The lasses are next in action on Thursday night against Sunderland West End Ladies in the NERWFL League Cup Quarter-Final - match details will be shared on our social media channels in the coming days.