Gemma Donnelly hopes Rovers Ladies can in time make Ewood Park their permanent home after another successful experience in Sunday’s draw with Southampton.
Saffron Jordan scored an 85th-minute equaliser, cancelling out Katie Wilkinson’s opener, to extend Rovers’ unbeaten run to five games.
It was the second time this season that the Ladies side have played at Ewood, following their opening day win over Sheffield United.
Over 1,000 fans watched the opening fixture, with around 700 defying the torrential rain to watch the visit against promotion-chasing Southampton, who play their home fixtures at St Mary’s.
Donnelly sees the value in making Ewood their permanent home, with the Sir Tom Finney Stadium at Bamber Bridge their current base.
Asked if playing at Ewood was the long-term aspiration, Donnelly said: “I hear so, of course we’d like to play at Ewood Park and make it our home and then we can start to really grow our fanbase with it being local and draw upon the local community, with Bamber Bridge being marginally further afield.
“Of course we would love to do that and for all our fans to enjoy a typical matchday experience, but that’s a question for the powers that be.”
Although still part-time, the ladies side train at the first-team’s Brockhall base three times a week, and once elsewhere.
They currently sit eighth in the Women’s Championship table in what is their fourth successive year in the second tier.
Securing funding for pitch improvements at Ewood could coincide with more regular game-time for Donnelly’s side, who sees the benefits as not only being on the field.
She added: “We’ve had the various lounges open, concourses being open, various other activities so if we can have some continuity to playing at Ewood you’d hope that would develop and enhance the fans’ enjoyment for attending ladies home games.”
Rovers looked well drilled and organised against the Saints who came into the game having won four successive matches to climb to third.
While the visitors had the better of the early exchanges, Rovers grew into the game and Wilkinson’s 57th minute goal came against the run of play.
Rovers gambled in the final quarter and from a set play in the final five minutes, Jordan came up with the equaliser when turning in at the far post.
On prioritising shape work in training, Donnelly explained: “We work religiously on ensuring that we’re organised and making sure people know and understand their roles and responsibilities both in and out of possession, likewise that of the squad players.
“At any given time we can change tactics, go quite aggressive and have two up top and the wing-backs pushing on to create overloads in wide areas or centrally.
“We have attacking-minded midfielders and Tash Fenton will sit in and do that screening job behind them.
“Likewise we can sit in and be really hard to beat, resilience and stubborn and I like that because it means that teams have to come and try and break us down and on regain we can try and counter.
“We tried to do that but were a bit reserved going forward, but still found space and punish through the spaces they left open and that created us some chances.”
Donnelly felt her side were slow out of the blocks, with Wilkinson and Beth Lumsden both having good opportunities inside the opening 20 minutes.
Yet Rovers had a good end to the first half, and a positive start to the second, only for Wilkinson to put the visitors ahead with a close range finish as the hosts were caught on the break.
But reflecting on a fifth game unbeaten, Donnelly said: “It’s a really good point.
“I thought we might’ve been able to nick it at the end but it was quite hard-fought and we knew that Southampton have gone quite a few unbeaten and with them playing at St Mary’s game in game out, to come to Ewood Park was going to be a tall order for us but we dug deep and while I don’t think we were at the races for the first 15 or 20 minutes, I thought we almost cancelled each other out so it was a game of chess but I’m happy with a point.
“I thought we grew into it, retained possession better and started to advance up the pitch.”
Jordan made it six for the season, having also been on target in Rovers’ last two Ewood fixtures, including the winner on the opening day against Sheffield United.
She celebrated the late leveller in style infront of the Rovers supporters, with Donnelly feeling the equaliser was just what her side deserved.
She added: “It was probably quite similar to the first game against Sheffield United, popping up at the back post, and I’m delighted for the girls because I thought we created enough, we were just lacking that bit of luck, but we created quite a few opportunities infront of goal.”
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