The City and England forward bagged a brace, as City kicked off the 2020/21 campaign with a win, defeating newly-promoted Aston Villa 2-0 at Villa Park.
Taylor – a striker himself in his playing days of course – was thrilled with Stanway’s contribution, as she harried and hassled the Villa defence into two costly mistakes.
“That’s Georgia Stanway!” he smiled. “She’s great to work with – she has so much energy.
CITY+ | Sign up to access exclusive content
“You just wind her up and let her go – she’s like a wind-up toy.
“I’m pleased for her. She probably should have a had a hat-trick but she’ll be pleased with two goals on the first day.
“The goals she scored were not classic goals. They were very similar but she fully deserved them.
“It’s easy to give up on it and allow the ‘keeper time on the ball but she put her under pressure well and got her just rewards.
“We want to dominate play and control possession and when the opposition have the ball, we want to get it back, although we know it’s not always possible.
“Having Georgia there gives us that opportunity.
“She’s great. Like any striker, she has the ability to play in a number of positions in the team and I’d back to her to get a goal and have an impact. She’s done that today and she’ll be really pleased.”
SHOP | Our Georgia Stanway range
Reflecting on his first FA Women’s Super League encounter, Taylor was naturally pleased with the win but admitted there were areas of improvement for his side.
“I thought we didn’t play our game aggressively enough or consistently enough as well as the way we can,” he conceded. “I know what these girls are capable of.
“There were elements of play in the build-up which were impressive but we didn’t consistently link together or build enough periods.
“You have to take your hat off to Villa – they had energetic spells in the game – but we made a few too many errors and certain bad decisions on our part in both halves, with and without the ball.
“There was obviously a little bit of nerves today – the first game in the WSL, a new season with a new manager and some new players. Plus, it’s a big stadium, big pitch and their first game of the season nerves.”
“Sometimes you are just looking for a decent start. We could have scored after 15 seconds through Sam [Mewis] and that would have settled us quicker. It felt like a slow game in some elements.
“We made some errors and gave away moments where they had opportunities and the game could have been a lot closer.
“It’s something we’ll work on. We’re not expecting 90 minutes of control, although that’s what you look for as a coach.”
Taylor was also pleased with the contribution of new recruits Mewis and Chloe Kelly, who both completed 90 minutes and produced influential contributions.
“They’ve really continued well,” he concluded. “Sam took a while to get going – maybe if she’d have scored her header inside 15 seconds, she probably would have been a little more confident in that first half.
“The pleasing thing is that she got 90 minutes under her belt. It’s the first one she’s had.
“Coming across and playing at a different level with new teammates can be hard but she’s fitted in really well.
“She’s going to be a big asset for us.
“Chloe is a real threat and she causes real problems, getting in behind with her pace, creativity and energy.
“It’s something we needed after losing Lauren Hemp to injury.
“It’s the first game and we are pleased to get the three points, but I and the girls know I expect us to improve.”
