Despite twice leading Sunday afternoon’s game at The Nest thanks to goals from striker Natasha Snelling, the Canaries were forced to settle for a draw against a Seaward team who finished just one point and place behind them last term.
City extended their unbeaten start to the new campaign with the result, but Herdman could not hide his frustration after his side let a potentially precious victory slip from their grasp.
He said: “We want to make The Nest an absolute fortress, so any home game where we drop a point or two points is not really good enough.]
“I really think that we’re hitting some of these teams and they’re in a really good rich vein of form, they’ve got lots of games under their legs. And there’s something about the heat that’s really affecting us right now.
“We’re almost playing in moments – we played at Cambridge last week, a lot cooler, a lot calmer, and then this week was a little bit back to Sudbury.
“Not quite Sudbury in terms of its chaotic nature, but it wasn’t a complete performance. We got our noses in front twice, it’s just a shame that we couldn’t hang on.
“Then we obviously had the two chances at the end to win it, and yeah, I’m disappointed, but if I’m honest, it’s a fair reflection on the game.”
Norwich’s standout player against Seaward was experienced forward Snelling, who took her goal tally for the season to four with two very well-taken efforts.
“In pre-season you could see she was desperate for a goal; she went three or four games (without one) but she didn’t have enough minutes in her legs,” Herdman said, discussing his striker’s display.
“She’s getting there now, and the second goal was an absolute bullet.
“What we don’t want, and what we said at the beginning of the season, is Tash ahead on goals. We want to fill that out with other people scoring, midfielders and wide players.
“Tash (was) brilliant, an excellent performance today.”
City were roared on throughout their first game at The Nest since early April by the 301 spectators in attendance, and Megan Todd said she felt the crowd made a real difference as the afternoon progressed.
The midfielder stated: “I feel like we haven’t played at The Nest in ages, but this game got hard, and when the crowd got behind us, it gave us that lift.
“You saw in the last 10 minutes, we really pushed, and they made silly mistakes, but the crowd give you that lift.
“(I’m) running down the line and I’m exhausted, but they’re shouting, so I’m like, ‘right, I’ve got to keep going’.
“It’s always great to see the faces here supporting us.”
The next time City run out in front of their home fans will be when they take to the Carrow Road pitch to face Cambridge United on September 10 – a day Todd is understandably very excited for.
“It’s a weird feeling,” she said. “This is a long, big week, so I think once we get the Cambridge City game done, and hopefully we get the three points there, I think Carrow Road will be a bit more enjoyable.
“Not (like) last year, it was very nervy, I was so nervous. But I think this year, it’s more excitement.
“We’ve already played Cambridge United, we know what we can do, and if we play like we do every week, I think hopefully it’ll be a really great day.
“I would like a goal at some point to get my first goal of the season. Maybe Tuesday, and then get the ball rolling at Carrow Road as well.”
Norwich City: Quantrill, Larkins (c), Flye, Strauss, Todd, Knights (Daviss 78), Drake (Hailes 56), Tomlinson (Parker 56), Symonds (Smith 46), Snelling, Shaw (Lawrence 62).
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