Sørensen pleased with resilience in Arsenal draw

Brian Sørensen was “really pleased” with Aston Villa’s resilience as they claimed a point on the road at Arsenal in the Women’s Super League.

Chasity Grant opened the scoring midway through the first half on Sunday afternoon, showing great composure to finish off an excellent counter attacking move. 

However, the away side were denied their third league win in a row by a late Alessia Russo header, as the points were ultimately shared at Emirates Stadium.

Speaking to VillaTV post-match interim head coach Sørensen said: “I enjoyed a lot of it. I think we were really resilient, hard to beat, put a lot of effort in as a team and got through the tough moments. 

“Of course, (we’re) a bit gutted with the late equaliser, but at the end of the day they also put enormous pressure on us. Credit to the girls, they worked extremely hard.

He continued, “To go here and get a point is not easy. We had to have the margins on our side, and we got that. 

“We needed that (opening goal). Not that it should be like a sleeping pillow, but we knew that if we keep working hard we could stay in the game if they come back and we did that.”

It was an afternoon filled with stellar rearguard efforts as keeper Akane Okuma made seven saves and the defence made a combined 41 clearances, with Sørensen left frustrated at being denied all three points so close to the final whistle.

“After we changed into a 5-4-1 we actually got control defensively. We had a moment where we rushed it and were caught a bit high, and that's when they took advantage of that. 

“When we were lower as a team, they were crossing from wide areas, they were sending a lot of players to the box, but at the end of the day we looked in control for a large part of those moments.

“So yeah, a bit frustrated, but that's also football sometimes.  Still really happy with the draw, it makes the team believe that we can go and do great things, so we keep working.”

Fixtures keep coming thick and fast, with back-to-back Women’s Super League home games against Manchester United and Second City rivals Birmingham City on the agenda in the coming weeks.

“Next up is United, so that's going to be a tough one, said Sørensen. “We go into that with all the belief in the world, and think, can we get a win?

"We're looking to have a good week of training and then see them at Villa Park next week.

“We need them (the fans) to come in numbers loud and proud, and we will put on, as we did today, a super-honest display. Hopefully we can get some more joy and some more wins.”

Watch Sørensen's full interview with VillaTV below...