Arroyo praises team's reaction and adaptability

Natalia Arroyo praised Aston Villa for how they managed with Brighton & Hove Albion in their win over them in the Women’s FA Cup yesterday afternoon. 

Goals from Anna Patten, Rachel Daly and Chasity Grant helped seal a 3-2 victory over the Seagulls to see them through to the quarter-finals of the competition.

Speaking to VillaTV after the game, Arroyo shared:

“It feels very, very good, it was a suffering one but, in my opinion, a deserved one.

“We were able to adapt ourselves to some of the new things that Brighton were trying to do.

“They have been playing amazing all season with a very clear identity, but they changed that a bit so we needed some time to manage it.

“But I think that the players did great, were brave enough to follow them, to press them and I think they (Brighton) weren’t as comfortable with the ball.

“It was difficult for the players that went in from the bench, but they were able to manage the stress of the last minutes and help us with their energy.

“In the league we had a different experience against them a few months ago so I am very happy.”

The Villans enjoyed the majority of the ball inside the first-half as well as teeing up most of the chances on goal but found themselves a goal behind through Nikita Parris on the stroke of half-time. But the side reacted well and pulled themselves level with a goal from Patten deep into stoppage and Arroyo was delighted with her side’s reaction to the setback.

“If you speak with the players, they are feeling that this isn’t the luckiest of season in their careers and when you start feeling this it is very difficult to trust life and football but I think we have the feeling that this luck is starting to change,” she shared.

“It is up to us how we deal with that, and I think we had this power today, this energy and hope.

“And it was (drawing level in first-half stoppage time) one of the key actions of the games, especially because it was (Brighton’s first goal) a mistake we’ve done again.

“But our reaction was very, very good.”

Villa came out firing after the restart as goals from Daly and Grant put them 3-1 ahead after only 10 minutes and Arroyo gave an insight into what was said during her half-time team talk.

She said: “We tried to use images to understand that the game wasn’t what we were planning, we had it very clear what we wanted to do but Brighton wasn’t in them positions.

“We put some things in order especially as we were in possession

“We then started to find the options to get into the last third and have the ability to score them (our chances).”