Middlesbrough Women’s boss Mick Mulhern took huge pride from his side’s valiant efforts as they bowed out of the Women’s FA Cup after a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United Women and called on his players to use it as a springboard.
Away to a side in the Championship - two divisions above them - who also had the advantage of being a full-time professional side, Boro were always going to be underdogs on Tyneside. But they battled well throughout and had two good opportunities to take the lead in the opening 25 minutes.
But a Hannah Greenwood brace from two set-pieces, one in either half, proved enough for Newcastle to avoid a cup upset. With the Magpies selecting a strong side, Mulhern took many positives from his side’s defeat.
“I’m very proud of the girls,” he said after. “We’ve competed against a tier-two team, and not just a tier-two team but a professional team who are full-time. We’ve put a show in like that and I’m really pleased with the girls.
“We were well-organised, hard to break down, and we caused them problems, particularly in the first 20-25 minutes. We can take heart from the fact their two goals came from set-plays because it shows that we were good out of possession and in open play they couldn’t break us down. We managed to keep their chances to a minimum.
“You could see towards the end of the game the advantage of being a professional side. Over the course of a calendar month, they’ll have 20 sessions whereas we have eight. There were a couple of our players struggling towards the end - and that’s normal in what was a game with a nice and quick tempo. I thought we were excellent though.”
The defeat sees Boro bow out of the FA Cup, though their run in the competition was always seen as a bonus. The league, and earning promotion from tier four, was always seen as the priority for Boro this season, having narrowly missed out last term due to only one side going up.
Mulhern’s side have dropped to fifth in the table despite losing once this season, though games in hand would catapult them up to second, one point behind Leeds United Ladies, providing they took advantage.
Such matters will have to wait until the New Year, however, with Boro’s final game of a productive 2024 coming on Sunday when they host third-tier professional outfit Nottingham Forest in the quarter final of the League Cup.
On using the Newcastle experience and looking ahead, Mulhern said: “We have to use this now as a springboard for the rest of our season. The league was always our priority and Newcastle are ultimately where we want to eventually be.
“That might take a little while to get there, but the girls have to realise that they are good enough. They’re showing that week in and week out. They’ve matched a top tier-two side is really pleasing.
“I think the girls are pleased as well, despite the loss, because they can see the positives. Ultimately, it’s about the bigger picture and how our project is growing.
“We’re a working progress, a young team, and we can take a lot from this and use it to push on. The key now is let’s have a reaction. What do we want now? Can we push on now and have a really good second half of the season?”