LADIES REMAIN UPBEAT

Everton Ladies aim to put the defeat to Rapide Wezemaal in the Uefa Cup behind them.

Everton Ladies manager Mo Marley has challenged her side to raise their game following the opening defeat in the second round of the Women’s Uefa Cup.

A last minute goal from Rapide Wezemaal condemned the Blues to a 2-1 loss to their Belgium counterparts on Thursday evening.

In arduous conditions, Michelle Evans’ excellent free-kick looked set to give Everton all three points but lapses in concentration saw two late goals conceded.

Mo Marley was left rueing the defensive mistakes which cost the Blues a valuable point.

“It was a game we should have won,” said Mo Marley.

“But circumstances meant we lost our discipline a little bit. When you look at tournament football, we’ve shown our inexperience.

“We normally play game to game. But from a tournament football point of view, a point would have been valuable.

“But the players were taking risks, and credit to them – as we want to win every game we play, but I think trying to win the game cost us in the end," she continued.

“We should have probably just shut up shop and accepted the point and accepted that circumstances were going against us.

“We’ve found ourselves losing the game in the last minute. And as we conceded in the last minute, then there’s nothing we can do about it to redeem ourselves.”

It was not all doom and gloom for Marley and now she insists the Blues must now pick themselves up for Saturday’s game against favourites Frankfurt.

“Bizarrely, I’m pleased with our performance, compared to how we’ve been playing of late,” she said.

“It was a massive improvement, but defeat means it makes the competition that little bit harder.

“We have to raise our game for our next fixture.”