Manchester City F.C.
·8 novembre 2024
Manchester City F.C.
·8 novembre 2024
Gareth Taylor says Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw's latest hat-trick is just reward for her relentless hard work for the team.
The Jamaican became the Barclays Women's Super League's record hat-trick scorer in City's emphatic 4-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium on Friday.
She has now claimed six match balls in the English top-flight, with three coming against tonight's opponents.
While Shaw has always been clinical in front of goal, Taylor believes the club record scorer finds the net so often because she works so hard for the team.
"Bunny has always been impressive and consistently scored goals for us. Spurs seem to be a team of joy for her," he stated in his post-match press conference.
"Looking at Bunny recently and at us without the ball, she's certainly the first presser in the team.
"She gets a real good opportunity tonight after winning the ball back aggressively. I felt she was good without the ball against Crystal Palace.
"She’s really important for us as a focal point. Then when we win the ball back and the opportunities we create and she gets a lot of chances.
"She appreciates the work the team puts in and Lauren’s crosses. She’s consistently scored goals for us and works really, really hard for the team and gets her rewards."
City were emphatic winners on the night, with Shaw netting after just 21 seconds before doubling our lead in the 15th minute.
Jill Roord got her third goal in three games before Shaw completed the scoring with her third midway through the second half.
While City were on top throughout, Taylor believes there's plenty more to come from his team.
"There were some good parts to our game tonight, and I think there were some things we can be better with," he said.
"We have to factor in playing in a different kind of environment for us. The good thing is we play three games here [this season] and the girls will feel ready for the next game because it’s slightly different to what we have at the Joie Stadium.
"Really good start, I think we had opportunities to enhance our lead at 2-0 and also at 4-0 as well.
"These are the things as I as a coach I want to push with the girls because when we stick to what we do we’ll see top things. Overall I was really pleased."