Karen Hills speaks after her side were edged out by the champions Man City in a narrow 1-0 home defeat at The Valley.
"I'm so proud of them. I think the way that we've set ourselves out today, I thought the players bought into what I was asking them to do, and I thought they delivered it and executed it to the best that they can. We were playing, obviously, the top team, the champions of the WSL and some unbelievable players.
"They've obviously made changes, but that didn't affect us. It just spurred us on. So for me today, to see the way that we played, the bravery on the ball, some really, really big performances from every single player today, and I thought we looked a different side.
"We looked more where we should be, and that is in the WSL. And if we can play like that weekly and we can be brave on the ball when we have those moments and create those moments, I think we're in a good place, especially from where we was three and a half weeks ago.
"I think it's those moments where if you work and you're patient and you're calm on the ball and you can see those patterns that you work on, and then you just have to execute them with a little bit of quality and bravery.
"And they all believed that they could do it and you saw the calmness in the players, and they're going to keep growing into this league and they're going to have these moments. And I'd just say that that was my sort of message to them this week. I want you to be brave. I'll take full responsibility, but I want you to play with the ball.
And I thought they delivered that really, really well. There were some really, really nice moments and some really good passages of play, and that was all down to the players executing it with quality, composure, and just that execution. So, yeah, really pleased with what I saw today.
"And also from a defensive point of view, I thought we was really bang on the money with that. I'm just disappointed to concede the way that we did. But listen, it's another step forward, right?
"Every game is going to give you a different challenge. We've got another two games in the next six, seven days, and these players are now going to have to recover because they've put in an unbelievable performance, an unbelievable shift today. And they're going to work really hard in training over the next couple of days, and then our focus is against Palace in the cup competition.
"So, an opportunity, again, to continue with where we've left off today. That's the standard. We've set that standard now. So, what I'm really looking at is, right, how do we keep that standard and then keep pushing forward? And I think these players have enjoyed that today. They've enjoyed playing under that pressure.
"They've enjoyed the way they've played. And now my challenge to them is, right, I want to see that again next week and the week after.
"So, every game, like you say, is an opportunity to try and get points on the board in the league competition, but at the same time, a cup game against Palace is going to be another exciting game, and one that we're going to be fully prepared for.
"We don't take any game lightly, so the prep work will be going straight into it for tomorrow, so that these players are ready to play against Crystal Palace and give absolutely everything as they have done today."