Head coach Zoey Shaw felt the Belles’ exit from the Women’s FA Cup was a harsh one to take following Sunday’s 4-2 defeat at Chester-Le-Street Town.
The Belles lead 2-1 before three goals in 13 minutes saw the hosts turn the game on its’ head to progress through to the third qualifying round of the competition, though Shaw believes there are plenty of positives to take.
“I thought the performance as a whole was a big improvement on last weekend’s game, and I don’t think the score-line really did us justice, especially when we’d had a few decisions that just didn’t go our way out there,” she said.
“It’s good for us to see a couple players getting on the scoresheet once again and that’ll give them two a lot of confidence going forward as well, I thought they both deserved their goals as well as they were very good out there.
“We had a couple players performing well out of their normal positions too, and that’s always promising to see as well, we linked up really well and played some very good football throughout the game so there’s positives to take.”
The Belles now have a quick turn-around as they host Lincoln City at Oxford Street on Wednesday night, and Shaw feels some of the stand-out performers so far this season can have a big part to play in getting the right result.
“I think there is a lot for us to take out of it for us and every game is a learning curve, we’ve had some solid performers so far this year, Izzy Trevillion has been one of those stand-out players for me, likewise Kirsty Smith who’s really taken command in the middle,” she added.
“Kirsty has stepped up to the plate in becoming captain and she’s been so consistent, we’ve got Tarsha Pamphille who’s just come into the side and has done a good job, so there’s quality there in the team, we just need to back it up now with the results.
“We’ve played some good football so far this season, we’ve scored a few goals, it’s just that things haven’t gone our way as much as it perhaps could’ve done, and now we have the perfect opportunity to respond with another game so quickly.”
Tickets for the Belles' FAWNL Division One Midlands game against Lincoln City on Wednesday October 9 are still available via the Club Doncaster Box Office, or at tickets.clubdoncaster.co.uk.