Everton boss Brian Sorensen said he was "really proud" of his side after they held Manchester United to a 0-0 draw in the Women's Super League.
The Blues travelled to Leigh Sports Village looking to put a dent in United's title hopes, with Marc Skinner's side having lost just one game all season. The Red Devils notched an emphatic victory in the reverse fixture at Walton Hall Park in October but it was a different story on Sunday afternoon; Everton travelling back down the M62 with a huge point that further consolidates their place in the top half of the table.
Although United largely dominated the contest, with England international Ella Toone hiting the post and Lucia Garcia firing inches over the bar, the Everton boss was delighted with his side's defensive resilience and believes the performance demonstrates the vast progress they have made this term.
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"We know how tough it is to come here with the form they have and an excellent team," Sorensen said after the game. "We tried at the beginning to start with more attacking players on the pitch and tried to press them really high and hoped we could benefit from that but we didn’t.
"Our defenders and Courtney (Brosnan) especially kept us in the game and at half-time we spoke about if we could get through the next 15/20 minutes of pressure then there would be something for us at the end. There was.
"I’m really pleased with the overall performance and it just shows how far we as a group have come to come here and take a point from a really good team. It was back and forth all the time but we held them off so I’m really proud about that."
And Everton even came close to stealing a late victory; Jess Park rounding the goalkeeper and slicing her effort wide after pouncing on a defensive error from United.
"We said after those first 15/20 minutes of pressure in the second half they will open up because they really want to win and I think we had two okay opportunities," Sorensen said.
"I talked to (Jess Park) after and she was like: ‘I was so tired’. But I think if she had been one or two years getting used to a game of this intensity and so on she would put that in the back of the net. But overall I think her and the rest of the team worked really hard."
While Sorensen was pleased with the way all of his team acquitted themselves at Leigh Sports Village, he was particularly impressed with the performance of goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan. The Republic of Ireland international came in for Emily Ramsey, who was unavailable for selection against her parent club, and made a number of superb stops to keep United out.
"Rambo has been doing really good and now it’s Courtney’s time to shine," the Everton boss said.
"I’m just pleased to have two goalkeepers that are so good and they work really well together. That’s what makes us so strong. The squad is really good. It’s where I want it to be so I’m happy."
Everton Women play their home games at Walton Hall Park and will be in action against Aston Villa on March 5. Tickets are free for Season Ticket, Lounge and Official Member. Tickets, priced at £4 for juniors and £8 for adults can be purchased here.
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