Coventry City Ladies' Paul Cudby paid tribute to the performance of Helen Dermody, after she netted the vital second goal in the victory over bottom-placed Barnet this weekend.
Courtney Sweetman-Kirk found the net just after the hour mark to give Coventry City the lead, before Hannah George was hauled down in the box two minutes later, allowing Dermody to convert from the spot.
The influential midfielder netted just once last season, but Sunday’s strike at Underhill was her fifth goal already this campaign, and Cudby is now hoping that she can put in exemplary performances on a consistent basis.
‘’I'm pleased for Helen to get a few goals’’ the Sky Blues manager admitted. ‘’She performed very well at the weekend and showed signs that she's beginning to understand how big an impact she can have on a game. The challenge for her now is to find ways to deliver that high level of performance when teams will identify her as a danger player. She's a hard working character, and very conscientious, so I'm certain she'll rise to that challenge.’’
Dermody scored just once in 21 appearances in all competitions last season, and she admitted that her lack of goals had spurred her onto having more of an impact in the final third in this campaign.
‘’I have a personal goal of scoring seven goals this season after not scoring enough last year. I haven't worked on this aspect of my game a lot, but I’ve simply just been more attacking during the games to get myself into the box and to support the other players in the attacking areas.’’
Without a victory in the FA Women's Premier League since the middle of September – a 1-0 win over Portsmouth – Cudby admitted that picking up the three points was simply ‘’a little bit of a relief’’, as the Sky Blues climbed from 9th to 5th in the table.
"A defeat yesterday may have left us in the mire a little, but I felt we were good value for the win. We performed well consistently through the game, throughout the entire side, and that was the more pleasing thing for me. If we give everything of ourselves, in everything we do, then we'll leave nothing to be desired from anyone.’’
For all of Coventry’s good work however, the match was marred by injuries to Kim Walton and Destiney Toussaint, both of whom were taken to the local hospital for scans after lengthy delays. With their only league tie in November coming against Cardiff City in a fortnight’s time, Cudby is remaining optimistic that the injuries will not be to the detriment of the squad, and will give fringe players a chance to impress.
‘’Kim and Destiny will both be out for at least two to three weeks, and maybe a little longer depending on how their respective injuries settle down over the next 24/48 hours. They're both very fit and strong minded players, and I feel that always makes a big difference in one's ability to return from injury a little quicker.
‘’We wish them both a speedy recovery as they've been important for us so far this season. On the other side of the coin, this will present an opportunity for one or two players to make a concerted step up in their performance levels to lay a claim for a start too."
Coventry City will be hoping to make it two wins on the bounce when they host Derby County in their final group fixture of the FA Women’s Premier League Cup next Sunday. Cudby may opt to experiment with his team selection in the tie at the Bedworth Oval, as the Sky Blues have all but qualified for the knock-out stage of the competition, having won all three of their games thus far.