Manchester United manager Marc Skinner believes his players let their standards slip against Manchester City as they suffered a 4-1 defeat in the Women's FA Cup on Sunday.
After City edged a Women's Super League derby a fortnight ago, United were handed the opportunity to make amends and put in a much-improved performance in a cup tie on home soil.
Skinner said his side weren't aggressive enough in individual battles in their defeat at the Academy Stadium, and it looked as though they took that instruction on board with an impressive first 45 minutes at Leigh Sports Village on Sunday. United were in control and took the lead through Katie Zelem, who scored straight from a corner.
However, two half-time changes from City changed the game, and Lauren Hemp equalised five minutes into the second half. Then, United threw the tie away with three defensive mistakes to gift City passage into the quarter-finals.
"There are ingredients to win football games. Winning one vs one duels is one of them," Skinner rued after the game.
"In the first half we did it, in the second half we didn't. We weren't physical enough in the second half. We conceded goals we wouldn't be happy with. That's the game, it's about winning duels to be successful.
"It didn't feel like us, I won't make excuses, I'll always support my players. As a group, we cannot have the standard drop from the first half to the second. The goals aren't good enough against us. We've got to stop them, we're in good positions to stop them. We jumped out of the way of things and we won't do that going forward."
Asked whether back-to-back derby defeats show United still have work to do to match rivals City, Skinner said: "The reality versus how we see it anyway is always a point. The competitive nature in me is I want to beat every team.
"We had the first half and could control what they did. We stopped it. We were in control of that moment and we let it slip. It doesn't matter what City do. If we let our standards drop like that we get beat.
"It doesn't matter who against, we need to keep standards high and one vs one duels and aggressive nature. I'm really disappointed. We have to be aggressive.
"The most disappointing part is how wonderful our fans are. It's what hurts more but for us, we didn't control what we could control in the second half. Let's not get skewed and look for a lucky win. If you don't control the second half you don't win.
"The goals conceded we'll address. We were excellent defensively vs City away, but need to be better with the ball. In the second half today we were in positions we will learn from, we'll be better."
And when it comes to improvements, Skinner again pointed to those individual duels as the starting point for winning games and getting back on track.
He explained: "Physicality, we have to keep imposing. You don't have to be the biggest. We didn't show it in the second half.
"My teams always fight for everything with or without the ball. It's a basic entry point, if we drop the ball second half or were not focused, I'll find out and fix it.
"For us it's game by game. What's clear is we've played some very good teams this month. We take each game as it comes. If we're not aggressive in our duels one vs one it doesn't matter the result, you won't win. I'll fire my team to be the best version of what we can be. It takes time against some tough opponents.
"It's disappointing to go out in any round. It's a competition we want to be synonymous with in the future. Let's go back to basics, get these duels right, this body position right, that opponent has to move you out of the way. We were too passive at that. If we want to be the force we want to be, we'll fix that.
"We were right in and at them in the first half, they made a couple of changes and we adapted our mindset around that. We made their possession predictable in the first half. When you allow people to break through your lines they can punish you. It's something we have to continue from the first half and take into the second half. We'll keep the consistency for the full 90.
"We'll learn but never forget what it feels like for our players and fans. It's about feeling and using it in a positive way. We need to show the reaction. We have to go through these awful experiences to grow and learn."
