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Langley: Plenty of positives in Durham Cestria defeat
Written by Joseph Nelson
Despite Newcastle United Women being eliminated from the FA Women's National League Cup on penalties on Sunday, manager Becky Langley believes her side can be proud of their display against Durham Cestria.
The Lady Magpies hosted the fellow FAWNL Division One North side - the two teams clash once more in the league on Wednesday - at Whitley Park and fell to defeat on penalties after an absorbing 0-0 draw that was nothing like the scoreline suggested.
"We should have had the game buried in the 90 minutes and if not the 90, then definitely in the 120," said Langley of her side's display.
"We had lots of chances throughout the game. I thought in possession we were really good, we moved the ball around really well and we were probing to break down their press.
"But we didn't have the quality and calmness in the final third. We'll be working on that to make sure that we become more clinical."
While Langley revealed the "disappointment" of her players after the 4-1 penalty shootout loss, she believes her side can take a lot of positives from the display they put on for the 700-plus supporters at Whitley Park.
"It's a real confidence boost for us to see how well we competed against Cestria across the 120 minutes," she said. "Player for player, the back four were outstanding. That's two clean sheets now on the bounce (after Norton Ladies away last week).
"I thought with Charlotte Potts and Freya (Bailes), there's a real partnership developing. And then the two youngsters at full-back (Daisy Burt and Keira Skelton) produced two of the best one-on-one defensive displays I've seen in a long time.
"That was a huge positive, and we're also creating chances. We are getting into the final third, it's just we need that little bit of calmness to finish."
Newcastle don't have to wait long for an opportunity to rectify Sunday's result, making the short trip to face Cestria in the league on Wednesday evening.
Langley is relishing the opportunity to right the wrongs of the weekend and get back to winning ways away from home.
"We'll be wanting to put that right and there's no better way to do that than against the same opponents midweek," she said. "It's a real opportunity to kick on and get the three points in the league, which is our main target.
"We've won every single away game we've played this season, which shows we have the character to go to another team's ground and impose ourselves.
"We are looking to do that again and I'm confident we can do that on Wednesday."
Photograph courtesy of Colin Lock/@Tyneside_NUWFC
"I thought in possession we were really good, we moved the ball around really well and we were probing to break down their press. But we didn't have the quality and calmness in the final third. We'll be working on that."