After his side suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Torquay United on Sunday afternoon, Forest Green Rovers Women Head Coach Tom Needham expressed plenty of pride in his team’s performance against one of the division’s best outfits.
In what was Rovers’ third consecutive away match, after beating Bideford 6-0, and drawing with Middlezoy all on away turf in recent weeks, they knew they would have to be at their best to beat a strong Torquay team. Difficult weather conditions made it extra hard for the visitors, but Needham believes that despite ultimately losing the clash, his side were extremely competitive.
“It was disappointing to go behind early but after that we reacted really well. We had some good chances, hit the bar and had some opportunities that we didn’t quite put away,” said Needham.
“On another day we easily could’ve gotten something out of the game and possibly won it. It was a competitive battle and I’m really proud of the players, they all worked really hard.”
After struggling with numbers and playing several teenagers in their previous match against Middlezoy, Rovers had some key players return to the fold for Sunday’s game, with the likes of Sam Morris, Hattie Jones, Louise Fensome and Rebecca Panniers all back in the side.
“They were a massive boost today, we looked really solid for most of the match. They gave us that physical presence and leadership during the game, which was really important on Sunday.
“They help drive some of the younger players forward - it’s helpful for them to see experienced players and how they react to the game.”
Up next for Rovers is another long away trip, this time to Marine Academy Plymouth on Sunday February 13 - their fourth successive away match from the last four weeks. The time and effort required for these long journey’s has a big toll on the team but it’s something they have dealt well with according to Needham.
“It’s a huge thing in our league, the away matches - we’re the most northern team so most of our travelling is quite a long way.
“It’s a big commitment for players as they’re not full time but we’ve mostly done a good job, we’ve only lost one of the four so far and that was against a really good Torquay side.
“Hopefully we can kick on now we have some home games coming up over the next few weeks, but first another long trip to Plymouth.”
