Dav Doone was full of praise for the Belles after they battled hard to earn a point at The New Saints on Sunday.
The Belles led twice on the Welsh border and were within four minutes of sealing a win before being pegged back later on, but Doone felt the squad’s hard work really shone through at the weekend.
“They were brilliant, they ran themselves into the ground, they did the little things really, really well, the effort and commitment was superb, they made sure they won those 50/50 battles and played forward quickly which was just what we wanted,” he said.
“The whole team worked so hard for each other though and they got a lot more luck out there than they have for much of the season, a lot of the hard work that they have put in over the past week really paid off and it’ll keep getting better.
“Straight after the game, we’ll look at it as two points lost, but on the whole when everything is considered, a point away at such a good team in this league is a good one earned, it just gives us that desire to go on and make sure we get three points next time out.”
Sunday’s game saw a new front two partnership of Nadia Khan and England under-17 international Lucy Watson, with the latter making her Belles’ first-team debut after coming through the RTC, and Doone said those two led from the front and were unfortunate not to gain more out of their efforts.
“Nadia was fantastic out there, she was really lively, she combined really well with Lucy, they were a good partnership together and I was really happy with the way they worked, but it’s not just those two, everyone on the pitch was fantastic,” he added.
“They must have known it was Lucy’s debut, they did everything to keep her out, what was pleasing the most was just how well she competed physically, her goal will come very soon I’m sure, she has such great ability.
“I’m proud of them all and gutted at the same time that we haven’t come away with three points, to miss out on a win so late on, but it was so pleasing to see just how hard the girls worked out there.”