BURTON-UPON-TRENT, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 11: Shannon O’Brien of Leicester City looks on during the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup match between Leicester City and Liverpool at Pirelli Stadium on October 11, 2023 in Burton-upon-Trent, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Shannon O’Brien scored the only goal of the game as Leicester City defeated London City Lionesses 1-0 to go into the winter break on a high.
But she wasn’t thinking about her matchwinning effort at the end of the game.
Rather, she was full of gratitude for goalkeeper Janina Leitzig – who saved a last-minute penalty to ensure that the Foxes claimed all three points for the first time in three months.
“All I can think about is Jani’s save last minute that kept us in the game,” O’Brien told BBC Radio Leicester afterwards. “I’m so grateful for that.
“Overall I think we thoroughly deserved the win. We were bright, we were energetic, we brought the game to them a bit. When we need to dig in at the end of the game, we always dig in. I’m really proud of the group.”
Passmoor: Shannon O’Brien is in a purple patch
Manager Rick Passmoor had some words of praise for O’Brien’s recent form as well.
“She’s in a nice purple patch,” he said. “She does a lot to ensure she remains focused in that zone because obviously it’s such a competitive league and as she scores goals she’ll become a marked player, people will make it more difficult for her.
“Today, how she took the goal, how she worked for the team in and out of possession, we’ve got to ensure that everybody does the dirty work and she’s doing that.”
He also reflected on the past months since taking up the Leicester City job on an interim basis at the start of the season, saying: “It’s great to finish the year with the three points and a clean sheet. The effort, the attitude and the work was fantastic by the whole group, and I’m not talking just about the starting eleven, all the subs.
“What we’re looking at is, going back to week 1, developing this group, creating a culture and environment that players feel comfortable and confident in, and that they take that on to the pitch.
“What we’ve done in recent weeks, it’s been a blip, It’s been very hard work for everybody. But today they showed as a group how hard they are to beat and how good they are in possession, because we created chances, we had opportunities to score, particularly a couple in the first half.
“We’re playing against a very, very good team with a lot of international flair to their squad, so we knew it would be a tough game, but obviously I’m delighted for all the staff, all the players, but particularly the supporters who came out in their numbers and backed us for 100 minutes.”
