Derby County Women went down 2-0 at Stoke City Women in the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division on Wednesday evening.
Heidi Logan put the Potters ahead after 11 minutes, which came against the run of play after a positive start by the Ewes.
Stoke added a second through Saffron Jordan ten minutes before half-time to firmly put them in the driving seat.
Derby pushed for a way back into the game in the second half and saw Dolcie O’Connor and substitute Isabel Sheridan both hit the woodwork but, despite their best efforts, they were unable to get the goal they craved.
Derby's next league fixture will see them host AFC Fylde at the Don Amott Arena on Sunday 24th March (2pm kick-off).
“We Can't Rely On Moments To Win Games” - Griffiths
Manager Sam Griffiths was left frustrated as the Ewes failed to take advantage of a positive start to the game across the A50.
Derby had chances in the opening ten minutes to take the lead before Stoke took their first opportunity of the contest to edge in front.
Griffiths was quick to stress that her side can’t rely on brief spells in matches if they are to pick up positive results on a consistent basis.
With no fixture this weekend, Griffiths has given her players a few days to reflect on their recent form ahead of returning to training next week.
She said: “We were 2-0 up at half-time at the weekend against Halifax and I don’t think we deserved it, whereas this time we were 2-0 down at the break and didn’t deserve it.
“We started well, but then conceded and that was disappointing. It was tough to take for the girls and we must be able to find it within ourselves to go again.
“We were still in the game and even at the break, we believed. I didn’t think our application was as good in the second half and we must show more than that.
“We were good in a few moments, but you can’t rely on 10-15 minutes to win games. You have to be consistently good and also take your chances, which we’ve not done.”
She added: “I’ve given the players some time to reflect as we don’t have a game this weekend. We need to pick ourselves up when we come back into training next week.”
“We Needed To Show Character, And We Didn't” - Sims
Skipper Amy Sims admitted it was a night where the Ewes came up short as they tasted defeat for the third time in four league outings.
Despite a positive opening to the contest, Sims admitted the side didn’t show enough character to find a way back into proceedings.
Derby still had chances, though, but weren’t ruthless enough when opportunities came their way.
Sims said: “It is disappointing, really. We started well for the first five or ten minutes and then conceded.
“We still dominated in the first half but found ourselves 2-0 down and had a lot of work to do.
“As players, we needed to show character and we didn’t do that really.”
She added: “We’ve got six league games and the National League Plate Final left, so we need to reflect as players what went wrong and how we can put it right.”
