Match Report: Fulham 0 - 2 Real Bedford - Pre-season Friendly

In a unique opportunity to play Royal Bedford for the second time in pre-season, Fulham FC Women welcomed their opponents to Motspur Park. Despite a spirited performance, the final scoreline did not reflect the effort and strides made by the team.

Head coach Steve Jaye expressed his gratitude towards Royal Bedford for stepping in on short notice, emphasising the importance of getting match experience over the pre-season period. "We want to say a big thank you to Royal Bedford for coming down and playing against us for the second time in pre-season. Obviously, we had a late pull-out in midweek, so the opportunity for us to play was more important than anything else," Jaye remarked.

The first half saw Fulham execute their game plan effectively, frustrating their opponents and creating a few good opportunities. "The first 45 minutes I thought we were exceptional" Jaye noted. However, a few key moments saw the side slip up, leading to a setback, going down 1-0 in an otherwise strong half.

Fulham performed well in the first half, aside from a single error that led to conceding a goal. Despite this, they created better chances, hitting the crossbar and generating two other significant opportunities. The second half posed more challenges, with Fulham coming under significant pressure in the early stages. However, substitutions late in the game added a fresh spark to the team, allowing them to get in behind the opposition more effectively.

Jaye highlighted the importance of these experiences in pre-season, stating, "These sorts of games can be defined on a couple of key moments, and I think we mismanaged a few of those today. But it's great that we're experiencing that in pre-season because obviously, if we do that in the season, it's going to be a lot trickier for us to manage and maybe get the results that we want."

Despite the challenges faced in the second half, the focus remains on fitness levels and consistency. "Fitness levels are still up, I think we delivered a lot on the game model certainly in the first half. I think the second half we just lacked a little bit of our consistency, probably linked to the number of changes that we needed to make," Jaye explained.

Looking ahead, Fulham FC Women are set to play their final pre-season game next week before the season opener in a couple of weeks. The team's preparation and experiences from these friendlies will undoubtedly be invaluable as they head into the new season with optimism and determination.