Manager Joe Sheehan hopes Ipswich Town's first point in Women's Super League 2 is a sign that they are gradually coming to terms with the division.
Manager Joe Sheehan hopes Ipswich Town's first point in Women's Super League 2 is a sign that they are gradually coming to terms with the division.
Ipswich won promotion from WNL Southern Premier least season but lost 4-0 to Southampton and 1-0 against Nottingham Forest in their first two games of the new campaign.
They have still to score their first goal but fought hard for a 0-0 draw at Charlton Athletic, a team who had begun the season with back-to-back victories.
"Southampton was an eye opener, it gave us a good indication of the level despite a difficult scoreline," Sheehan told BBC Radio Suffolk on Sunday.
"Nottingham Forest are a really good team, but we reduced the score deficit to just one, and today marks another sign of progress, we've managed to come here and keep a clean sheet, get ourselves a point on the board.
"The passion and and enthusiasm to keep moving forwards and progressing, and giving ourselves more chances of winning games, is something we'll be looking at over the next week or two."
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Ipswich only managed one shot on target at The Valley but had more in total than Charlton - seven to six - and their 73.3% per cent of tackles won and number of forward passes made were higher than the home side.
"We certainly took the initiative [at the start] and imposed our game, which was pleasing, without really capitalising too much on some of our good work. It was a different second half, no real clear-cut chances for either team," Sheehan said.
"A point is probably a fair result and something we can really build on. It's just [about] making the right decisions, having the confidence and courage to come up with the right action at the right time, [players] putting the ball in a position for someone else to score, or finding a bit of space to get their own shot away.
"They're things we will look at and see where we can improve, and that's something we've been really good at since our first game.
"The signs are positive already in some areas where we have improved but we have to keep building and really analyse what we could be better at."
Ipswich will have a chance to test themselves against top-flight opposition on Wednesday when they are at home to Leicester City in the League Cup.
Ben Haines, Ellen White and Jen Beattie are back for another season of the Women's Football Weekly podcast. New episodes drop every Tuesday on BBC Sounds, plus find interviews and extra content from the Women's Super League and beyond on the Women's Football Weekly feed
Category: General Sports
