Joel Hutton: Preparation was key
Cardiff City FC Women's manager Joel Hutton spoke to cardiffcityfc.co.uk following their impressive 6-0 opening day victory over Briton Ferry Llansawel on Sunday, September 3rd.
“I was happy with the result at the end of the game,” began Joel. “We didn’t start particularly well and it took us the best part of the first half to get a foot-hold in the game. We may have been lucky to be two goals up at half time but we spoke to the girls on what they can work on after the break. Ultimately, the game then took care of itself in the second half.
“It was great to see Catherine Walsh score a hat-trick. She was very delighted too. We had her a couple of years ago before she left the club so we know what she’s about. She decided to come back now and after overcoming two ACL’s. She’ll add a different dynamic this year for our squad. She’s a different type of forward that can help create and chip in with the goals.”
Hutton then went on to discuss the significance of pre-season and how that got his players up to speed ahead of their 2018/19 season opener.
“Our pre-season helped prepare us for our first test; especially in the second half. The girls are a lot fitter now than they were last season. We’ve worked on breaking the game down and focussing on different parts for the girls. Some of the girls probably could’ve kept on playing after the full-time whistle.
“Pre-season isn’t meant to be easy and we know certain results didn’t go the way we wanted them to. We were more interested in their performances ahead of our game against Briton Ferry Llansawell. After that match, no-one would’ve cared that we lost 3-0 to Wolves Women in pre-season. The main thing is that we prepared ourselves and that’s what we showed.
“We’ve now set our attention on our next outing which is against Llandudno Ladies. It’s never an easy place to go to. We’ll prepare well for that and go up the night before. It’ll certainly be a tough test for the girls.”
