Carla Ward expressed her 'immense pride' after Aston Villa's heartbreaking defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
Villa fell to a third consecutive defeat to begin the 2023/24 season with after Katie McCabe and Alessia Russo's goals in second-half stoppage time stole the show for the Gunners.
Maz Pacheco had given Ward's team a first-half lead, but they could not stop the turnaround as a search for points goes on.
“Immense pride," said Ward when asked of her feelings after the game.
"There was a resilience… we asked the group for an honest performance.
"We wanted a whole-hearted performance, and they showed that tonight. That hurts, because they were excellent.”
After a resilient display, Villa then had to contend with a lengthy period of additional time which proved too much eventually.
And Ward bemoaned the number that went up on the fourth official's board as the clock ticked over 90 minutes.
“I’m not really sure where the 12 minutes [of stoppage time] came from," the manager said.
"The girls were magnificent on and off the ball. We set up in a different way to try and frustrate Arsenal and we did that for 92 minutes.
"Proud of them, but it’s a tough one to take.”
"If we can continue to stick together and continue to implement what we’re going after, soon enough points will come.”
“We all felt today was the day we were going to get something.
"The week we’ve had was sensational. But this group bounce back and they look after each other."
