Manchester United had of possession but it was Chelsea who would come out on top in a narrow 1-0 victory in the WSL on Sunday.
Sam Kerr got the better of the United backline in the 23rd minute when Lauren James' long ball dipped into her path perfectly before she lobbed goalkeeper Mary Earps.
The goal did not impact United's control of the game's tempo, nor did it hamper their motivation to push forward. Skinner said: “We’ve dominated, we’ve tried to progress. We’ve come to the champions' home ground and put our stamp on it.”
However, Skinner claimed Kerr’s goal was a “switch-off moment” from his squad. “Sam is really good at invading a backline and it’s something we won't be happy with when we look at it" he added. "One long ball should be able to be dealt with but that’s something we have to learn from.”
The scoreline could have looked very different had referee Cheryl Foster considered the challenges on Nikita Parris and Ona Batlle to be worthy of penalties.
He added: “It helps if you get two decisions that should go for you, they’re two big decisions and that’s the reality in big games. We’ve come here, we’ve had 63% possession, we’ve dominated the ball, we've moved Chelsea in only being able to counterattack really and yet we’ve come away having got into the box twice and they’re two penalties. And two penalties in a game like this are massive.
“When I look over the balance of the last few games, Chelsea get a goal that was offside the other day so these are decisions that all make and break where you finish in the table. But in that game today, we should’ve had two penalties.”
Kadeisha Buchanan knocked Parris’ trailing leg as she passed the centre-back in the 33rd minute. Shortly after that there was a hefty aerial duel between Batlle and Jess Carter that Skinner thought was out of line: “They’re stone wall in my opinion when I watch them both. They’re the same incidence, especially the aerial challenge where it happens in midfield and it’s given as a foul so I just don’t get the difference.
“We have to invest in the officials, we have to invest in the surrounding technology that can help. You can tell my frustration with that,” added Skinner.
It isn't the first time Skinner has been frustrated with officials, after winning an appeal against Ella Toone's red card vs Tottenham Hotspur in February.
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