Opinion: Skinner should take heart from commanding Manchester United victory

It may not have been a high-octane, pulsating victory for Marc Skinner on his first competitive outing as Manchester United Women’s manager, but the former Birmingham City coach will be thrilled at how commanding his side looked on Friday night.

The Red Devils kicked off the biggest WSL season to date with a straightforward 2-0 win over Reading at Leigh Sports Village. It was Kirsty Hanson who got the ball rolling for the hosts when she converted Ella Toone’s perfectly timed through ball, before Ona Batlle grabbed her first goal for the club in the 54th minute with a powerful strike.

From there, not a great deal happened, as Reading struggled to break down United’s well-orgainsed defence, while Skinner’s side controlled possession with ease and could have added a few more goals, had their finishing been a tad sharper.

It will be that poise which will please the new coach most. The 38-year-old became the club’s second-ever manager earlier this summer, replacing the much-respected Casey Stoney, who departed after three years in charge. The basis of Stoney’s high-pressing, possession-based, attacking philosophy was still evident on Friday, albeit with a few subtle changes.

Toone, who started up front, enjoyed dropping deep to create space for others - as demonstrated by the first goal, while the midfield trio of Katie Zelem, Vilde Boe Risa and Lucy Stainforth moved the ball with a slight more zip. It was also notable how regularly the full-backs advanced into the final third and United’s narrow back four looked much more secure than in the final months of Stoney’s tenure.

“It’s very much a hard work in progress,” Skinner explained to Sky Sports after the match. “The players have been tremendous since I came in and they’ve given lots of energy to what we want to do and hopefully you’ve seen a little glimpse of that today because I think you’ll see a lot more of that throughout the season. Casey left us a wonderful foundation for us to build from, and I just want to add the little bits and add it into our own style.

“When you look at the opponent, we identify where there are spaces that they’re going to leave and with a 4-4-2 press, the spaces were going to be behind their midfielders and in front of their defenders,” he continued.

“So in order to help us get into those spaces, we had to be connected behind which draws the opponent out and draws the connected lines. I think what we’ve been trying to do is build the connections off the field and continue them on the field. What you get from having shorter passing lanes is much easier, short, quick decisive passing.”

That shorter passing resulted in a game where, excluding the first 15 minutes, Reading rarely looked like threatening the home goal - although Brooke Chaplen’s thunderous strike may well have crossed the line prior to Batlle’s goal, with replays proving inconclusive.

The Red Devils also gave debuts to Hannah Blundell, Aoife Mannion, Vilde Boe Risa and Martha Thomas, all of whom impressed and, despite losing experience and talent from their ranks this summer, the club still have one of the deepest squads in the division.

However, the question remains whether they can match the talent in the respective rosters of Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal. That will be the aim for Skinner, of course, to better Stoney by bypassing the aforementioned clubs and jump into a Champions League spot.

It’s why impressive early victories could help set the tone for the season. Yet wins against sides below them in the division have been relatively par for the course in United’s two WSL seasons to date. What will ultimately define the third is the ability to take significant points from that elusive top three.