Blackburn Rovers head coach Simon Parker said that there were plenty of positives to take from his side’s 3-2 defeat to Durham in the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup last night.
After conceding an early goal, Rovers battled back and strikes from Helen Seed and Millie Chandarana saw them go into the break 2-1 up. Parker’s side were on course for the win until Durham netted two penalties in the final 18 minutes of the match, leaving the visitors with nothing to show for their efforts.
When providing his analysis of the game to WSL Full-Time, Rovers boss Parker highlighted areas for improvement, however, he saw lots of positives from his side’s performance at Maiden Castle.
“It was obviously not the start that we wanted,” Parker said. “We wanted a reaction (after Crystal Palace) but we started quite poorly, conceding within two minutes.
“The reaction after that was really good. I thought we pressed with intensity and we created quite a few chances; Evie (Smith) has had a few chances and in the first half, we probably could’ve scored a few more. That ultimately punished us but there were a lot of positives.
“In the second half, it became quite an emotional game. I don’t think the referee was great in my opinion. When we should have had a free-kick on the edge of the box, we wanted a free-kick, not an advantage. He then played on and they got a free-kick which led to a penalty which again, is not a penalty. That was annoying. Their keeper then committed a hand ball outside of the area and they went up the other end and got another penalty.
“Those key moments have hurt us but we have got to control the game better. Maybe we could control our emotions better as everything got a bit crazy. It became frantic and we have got to be better in those moments.
“There were positives, especially after what happened against Palace. We created more chances, showed more character and more fight. Even when it got scrappy, we fought and matched Durham on that front which isn’t easy to do. There are positives that we can take.”
Blackburn Rovers went into the game without the services of in-form attacker Meg Hornby who was nursing a minor shoulder injury. Parker was pleased to see other players step up in Hornby’s absence.
He said “It is really positive. We spoke about our midfielders not getting in attacking areas enough, not making as many forward runs as we would like, not scoring goals or providing assists, contributing in attacking ways. Today, Chands (Millie Chandarana) got a goal and Chloe (Williams) was a lot more involved in the attacking side of the game.
“Without Meg being there, the midfield did step up and also, Evie (Smith) coming in today, I thought she was tidy and obviously, she could have had a couple of goals herself.
“We were thin on numbers today (illness, injuries and management of load), especially in attack but it was positive that we could still create those chances.”
Blackburn Rovers are next in action on Sunday when they play host to Charlton Athletic in the Barclays Women’s Championship.
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