Amy Merricks says that she is delighted in her Birmingham City charges who were ‘relentless for each other’ during a brilliant draw at the Emirates.

Merricks was speaking to the media after her side held on for a point in a 1-1 draw at the Emirates on Saturday. After the match, The Halfway Line heard from the Birmingham City head coach.

Amy Merricks says the ‘whole group deserves credit’ for Arsenal draw

Before the season began, if you’d been told the front-runner for WSL Player of the Season by October would play for Birmingham City, few would have believed it.

However midway through October that’s exactly where we find ourselves, another goal today for Océane Hurtré after she found the net on her France debut in midweek. Merricks was asked how she is getting the best out of her star player,

“It’s about getting her into the right place at the right time” Merricks explained. “Continuing to improve her as a holistic player, both sides of the game. I thought she had some really good moments today, but I’m also equally really pleased that Neve [Herron] got a Player in a Match.

“I think we’ve got a fantastic group of players, and I think today we needed everyone to contribute. And I saw bodies on the line, I saw relentless defending. So obviously, OC [Hurtré] gets a great goal, [with a] composed finish, but we have to credit the whole group today because it’s a fantastic team performance.”

The Halfway Line asked if Hurtré had been replaced due to an injury, “She needs to be assessed” Merricks coyly replied. After following up Merricks caveated, “It’s too early to tell, so she needs to be assessed, and we’ll go from there.”

Merricks ‘filled with pride’ after point at the Emirates

Amy Merricks has had some impressive performances as Birmingham City manager since taking over in 2024, but this is likely to rank as her best result yet. For the first time in WSL history every defender in a back four made more than 11 defensive contributions in one afternoon,

“We spoke before again about being relentless” Merricks said. “Being relentless for each other, sprinting across the grass, making sure we’re doing all the basics well.

“We also moved some players around today, and they took that completely in their stride. I thought the whole team was excellent. Shannon Cooke comes in and was brilliant defending defending the box for Sophie Bagley again. Outstanding.

“There’s so many people. I can’t wait to see Lisa [Naalsund] and [Suzu] Amano’s metrics. I think they run about 20k, and look, we knew we needed to suffer today, and we were going to suffer in moments. But we looked composed, we looked organized, and we always had a threat with the ball. And we just got to keep building and developing on this platform that we have now.

After the visitors took the lead, the Blues looked well placed to hold on for three points. When asked if there was any disappointment in the fact that Birmingham couldn’t hold out for a win,

“I understand your question, but there’s no part of me that’s disappointed right now” Merricks replied. “I’m just really, really proud of the group. There’s if, buts, maybes right. I think the fact that we’ve come here today and we’ve scored at the Emirates is a massive statement. Not a lot of teams do that in this league, and I think that just shows the threat that we pose.

“I’m really proud of the way we managed the last 20 minutes because I think that’s been an area for us to improve on, and we look really stable, really united in what we were doing. So there’s no part of me that is disappointed today.

“Every part of me is filled with pride. Filled with pride and the progress that we’re making, I think, [it] is really evident for everyone to see. So we just have to keep pushing in this direction.”

Neve Herron is ‘growing and growing’ says Amy Merricks

Neve Herron won the WSL Player of the Match for the afternoon, she made 20 defensive contributions and assisted the Birmingham goal with an perfectly weighted pass. The Halfway Line asked Amy Merricks about Herron’s performance,

“Delighted for her” Merricks said. “She’s someone that I’ve been here nearly two and a half years now, and she’s just growing and growing. I think every game’s showing what she came for.

“She played in a different role today, and had a really important part to play in the strategy because that right hand side for Arsenal was really key, and I think her and Marie [Levasseur] together just completely nullified it and were excellent. So for us, I’m really pleased that she got the recognition that she deserves today with that performance.

“She’s becoming more and more professional, composed in her performances, and I thought today was a true reflection of that. But she’s not satisfied in terms of where she is right now, she’s ambitious and she wants to keep growing, and we’ll keep pushing her so she can continue to perform like this and improve on her career.”