MILLWALL LIONESSES took what they had been practising on the training ground and applied it successfully in their last league game – but it wasn’t enough to avoid defeat against London Bees.
The visitors fell behind early on when Emma Beckett fired a loose ball into the net from a corner.
But Chris Phillips’ side hit back when the Lionesses’ high press paid off and Lia Cataldo forced an error before thumping home past ex-Millwall stopper Sarah Quantrill. It was Cataldo’s first goal of the season, and her side’s first league goal this campaign.
But it was the Bees who claimed all three points late on, when Lauren Pickett picked up possession on the left edge of the box to curl brilliantly past Chloe Samson into the far corner.
Cataldo was pleased her side showed that preparations on the training ground paid off with her goal.
She said: “It was simple, really, I just placed it. It was from the press we’d been working on and the first time we got it perfect the goal came from it. So I’m buzzing to get my first goal.
“We need to starter sharper, we want to play forward rather than back.
“We’re gutted, we put all that effort in and did the best we could. It’s just unfortunate.
“As a team we’re proud of our performance.”
The Lionesses are at home to south London rivals Crystal Palace at Dartford on Sunday.
Cataldo added: “We’re back in on Friday. I’m not going to tell you our game plan but we’ll put in lots of prep and I think we’re ready.”
Kick-off this weekend is 2pm.
Image: Millwall Lionesses