Derby County Women claimed a hard-earned point as they played out a 1-1 draw at home to local rivals Nottingham Forest Women at Pride Park Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Before a crowd of just over 2,000 supporters, Derby took the lead shortly after half-time through midfielder Becky May.
Forest hit back to level midway through the second half when a right-wing cross was unfortunately diverted into her own net by right-back Camille Jenkins.
Derby goalkeeper Sarah Morgan had to be at her best to keep the Reds at bay late on as the Ewes ground out a point with a determined and hardworking display.
Derby's next league fixture will see them head to Halifax FC on Sunday 14th April (2pm kick-off).
“I Am Happy With A Point” - Griffiths
Manager Sam Griffiths admitted she was happy to see her side come away with a point for their efforts.
Griffiths was pleased to see the Ewes dig deep as a team to ride strong spells of Forest pressure and pick up a point against the promotion chasers.
Overall, she was of the view that her side’s heart, passion and desire, alongside their workrate, secured the hard-earned point.
She said: “We had to ride some spells of pressure in both halves, but we still had our moments as well. Am I happy with a point? Absolutely. We’ll take the point and move on.
“There’s no hiding that Forest probably won the second half in terms of possession, shots and everything else, but we knew we’d have to get through tough periods in the match.
“We knew we would be up against it by facing one of the best footballing sides in the league. What I wanted to see was heart, passion and desire. What got us over the line was working so hard as a team.”
She added: “We have some very tired legs in the dressing room. We knew that would be the case because we had the privilege of playing at Pride Park.”
“Plenty Of Positives For Us” - Joyce
Midfielder Emily Joyce felt there were plenty of positives to take away from the Ewes’ showing with the Reds.
Joyce, who was combative as ever in the middle of the park, admitted Forest’s quality provided the side with one of their sternest tests of the season.
On reflection, Joyce viewed the point recorded against their local rivals as a positive one to add to the three the Ewes picked up at the City Ground earlier in the season.
She said: “Forest came out strongly early on and we had to weather the storm to start with.
“We had some chances after that, but we couldn’t hit the target. We then managed to get ahead just after half-time with a great team goal and, in the end, it is just a shame we conceded the equaliser as we did.
“You have to hold your hands up sometimes and admit you’ve come up against a great team, which we did in Forest.
“We are, probably, happy to come away with a point and we can take a lot of positives from this. It is a good point and we tried to play our way, which is encouraging.”
She added: “It is always great to play at Pride Park. As a Derby fan myself, and there are a few others in the squad too, it is always a fixture to look forward to.”
“We'll Take The Draw” - Morgan
Sarah Morgan believes the entire Ewes’ team, from back to front, stepped up to the plate to grind out a draw.
Long-serving goalkeeper Morgan, who has acted as back-up for most of the season, has been in the side in recent weeks owing to Anna Draper being sidelined due to injury.
She produced a fine display to keep Forest at bay, making excellent saves in either half, and she thoroughly enjoyed playing her part in the side picking up a point against their local rivals.
She said: “I thought we were superb. Everyone had to bring their ‘A Game’ and we’ve managed to get a draw against a really good Forest team by doing that.
“Obviously we’d have liked to have won the game, but we’ll take the draw. The own goal was unfortunate, but I thought we were excellent in terms of how we performed.
“We’ve got some big games coming up, including the National League Plate Final in a few weeks, but for the time being we are just looking at the next league game.”
On her performance, she added: “I’ve had to have a few games to get used to be back playing again. I felt like today, especially with the occasion and playing at Pride Park, it was a chance for me to show Sam and the staff I can still play and want to play with a Ram on my shirt.
“It was great to make quite a few saves, especially here at Pride Park.”
