Joint-managers Lou Barry and Josh Oldfield described Northampton Town Women’s 2-0 win away to Mansfield Town on Tuesday night as 'outstanding.'
Alex Dicks’ brace took her tally for the season in all competitions to 31 goals and closed the gap between the Cobblers and East Midlands Women’s Regional Football League Premier Division leaders Chesterfield to four points. The Cobblers have four games in hand on the Spireites.
Barry was delighted with how his side played.
“It was a brave, smart performance and we kept the ball fantastically,” he said.
“We didn’t create a great deal but we took our chances clinically.
“To do that after a massive performance on Sunday is huge.
“The players that started and those that came on were brilliant.
“Everyone stepped up tonight, including people who were injured.
“That’s what it takes and we’re really happy.”
Oldfield echoed his counterpart's comments, adding: “We couldn’t have asked for more from the team.
“They left it all out there on Sunday and they did that again tonight.
“We knew we’d need all 16 players tonight, and we got a big shift from every single one of them.
“That’s what we need to reach the goals we want to reach.
“The girls were outstanding tonight, absolutely outstanding.”
The win comes just two days after the Cobblers’ Northamptonshire FA Women’s Cup final success over rivals Peterborough United.
Barry praised his team’s strength in depth, saying: “We had at least five extremely important players missing today, but you wouldn’t have known it, because the people we brought in were outstanding.
“We’ll continue to need the whole squad, and their attitude is outstanding.”
The Cobblers host the Stags in the reverse fixture on Sunday.
Oldfield expects his side to continue their hard work.
“We’ve got to get some recovery done very quickly because it’s been a big exertion in a short space of time, and we weren’t helped by not playing for three weeks through no fault of our own,” he said.
“We now have a much better idea about Mansfield, so we’ll prepare ourselves and go again on Sunday.
“Another huge shift is needed, but we’re at that stage of the season where every 90 minutes is a big shift and every game is important.”