The match was one that the Royals controlled from the offset, but were unable to capitalise on a dominant performance and fell to a 72^nd minute winner from Claudia Walker that went against the run of play.

“We felt confident coming into the game,” Chambers said. “We’d been on a good run, good momentum, good results. We went into the game feeling positive, but that’s football; that’s why people love it and hate it.”

Previous to Sunday’s defeat, Reading had won three games in a row. A 3-1 score-line at home to Aston Villa was followed by a 1-0 away win at West Ham and finally, four days prior to Birmingham, was a fantastic 4-0 victory against Charlton Athletic in the Continental Cup.

Breaking down the team’s performance, Chambers gave her usual, honest critique, “We weren’t good enough in the final third; we had twenty-two shots on goal and not scored, so I think that says it all really.

“Fair play to Birmingham, they made it as hard as possible, they changed shape a bit in the second-half. But again, we still found so many openings, but we just didn’t find the back of the net and if we’d have scored early, the game would have been very different.”

Chambers was philosophical in her summary of Sunday’s defeat, with one eye firmly on Manchester City this weekend. “When you see those moments – them scoring against the run of play – you question whether it’s your day, and we know that football can be like that at times. But as I said; we had twenty-two shots on goal, plus nine corners and I think there probably should have been at least one penalty when looking back at the footage, but that’s football and sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.

“We need to reflect, we need to bounce back very quickly and we need to get back on the training pitch and get ready for Man City on Sunday.”

Reading FC Women are next in action on Sunday when Manchester City visit Madejski Stadium for a 2pm kick-off.

🗨️ Chambers | “Sometimes, you question whether it’s your day”