Aberdeen Women picked up another three points in SWPL1 after defeating Hamilton Accies, but co-manager Gavin Beith insists there is still room for improvement.
The Dons were the better side in the first half and scored early, but had to work hard to maintain their lead for the 90 minutes.
Beith believes Aberdeen must produce more assured winning performances if they are to push themselves to the next level in SWPL1.
He said: “We’re obviously delighted to pick up the three points, but slightly disappointed with the second half performance. I think we could have kicked on a bit after the first half. It was a good first half and we created one or two chances.
“I think going forward we need to be more ruthless. We need to kill teams off, especially when you’re in front, because if you don’t they can come back to bite you.
“Accies came in with a lot of crosses and we did deal with that well. There is positives from that, but there are things we need to brush up on and make sure that we do convert the chances that we manage to create.”
Aberdeen had to be resolute in defence for the last 20 minutes of the game as Hamilton pushed for a late equaliser. Carrie Doig started her first game of the season and put in a good defensive shift for the 90 minutes.
The defender said: “It’s a massive result for me. As a defence, we love to keep a clean sheet and it makes a statement from us.
“We were definitely stronger in the first half overall, but in the second half we managed to cling together as a defensive unit. We all worked hard to do our own jobs to come together for the team.”
First goal for Brown
Louise Brown scored a brilliant side-footed finish for the only goal of a game where chances were lacking for both sides. The goal was Brown’s first of the season after signing for the Dons earlier in the summer.
She said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the goal. We’ve been working on shooting all week in training and just trying to improve.
“To get my first goal, I hope I can take this into the next few games and keep it going.”
Aberdeen played in front of another strong crowd at Balmoral after their first fixture attracted almost 500 supporters. On the full-time whistle, many of the young fans chased down the side to get photos and autographs.
🔴 Full Time | A brilliant performance from The Dons as we claim back to back wins in the league.
COYR! #StandFree pic.twitter.com/eJfCK1MmqW
— Aberdeen FC Women (@AberdeenWomen) September 19, 2021
“It’s inspiring for us because you see them at the end when they’ve gone down to chat with the girls. It’s massively massively important,” Beith said.
“The team knows what their roles are. They are role models, they’re here to try and inspire the next generation of players to hopefully come through and play for Aberdeen.”