Andy Butler says that the Belles’ sticking to the game plan was the driving force behind picking up their first win of pre-season after a 2-1 win over Chorley on Sunday.
Jasmine Saxton struck both goals to help Butler’s side come from behind after their Division One North visitors took an early lead, but for the manager it was a pleasing performance in front of the home fans at the Club Doncaster Sports Park.
Butler said: “We never strayed away from the game plan, they stuck to what we asked them to do, and in the end, we’ve come away with a good result, we had plenty of chances to score before we did, and more throughout the game as well.
“It’s good to see Jasmine find the net early too, she’s a big goal threat for us, but we have a lot of other good players that when they find themselves in those positions, they can score plenty of goals too which is great for us.
“Overall, we’re very pleased with the performance, we obviously thank Chorley for coming down and giving us a good game, it was a good challenge and we wish them all the best for the season ahead.”
The win over Chorley saw the Belles bounce back after defeat in their opening pre-season fixture away at Stockport County, and it was the work in training during the week that Butler was impressed with, with vast improvements in both fitness and style of play as more bodies were available to feature.
“I was pleased from the aspect of we’d improved on the performance from last week, we’ve done a lot of work over the last week in training, particularly in playing out from the back and I think that showed here,” Butler added.
“We’ve managed to get a lot of minutes into the girls already after being lower on numbers last weekend, this week we had the ability to have more of a turn around and you can see the improvement in their fitness.
“That’s all down to the players’ dedication and the way that they train and approach all the sessions we put on for them, we’re looking for steady progression now, as long as we’re on the right path way towards the start of the season that’s all I can ask for.”
The Belles host Durham Cestria next Sunday August 1 as they continue to ramp up their pre-season preparations ahead of the 2021/22 Division One Midlands season.