Millwall Lionesses midfielder Lottie Ivison is enjoying the “energy and togetherness” of the squad and praised the side for their performance in their recent FA Cup game against AFC Wimbledon.
Millwall held the side from the tier above goalless until ten minutes from time before their south London rivals struck twice to go through to the second round.
“I’m proud of everyone, to keep it all square for 80 mins against a team playing in a higher division just shows we are good enough to compete,” Ivison Millwall Lionesses’ website. “It was a great game for us to see how far we have come as a team. Now we focus on the league and continue to work hard in training.
“Coming back into such a positive camp has been great, everyone is on such a high. The energy and togetherness brings focus and intensity into training, everyone’s working hard on and off the pitch.
“I’m so happy to be back and excited for the weeks ahead.”
That defeat against the Dons was a first under boss Jack Wheeler, who had enjoyed five straight wins since replacing Katie Whitmore.
Ivison added: “Jack coming in was so refreshing for us all, he is experienced and has been brilliant with us since his arrival.
“The work he is putting in is helping us develop as players which in turn is leading to better performances on the pitch. He is definitely a big part of why the energy is so high in camp.”
“I think we prepared mentally very well as a team [for the Dons game]. We knew it would be a tough game but we went out and competed very well.
“We knew they’d have the ball more and create lots of problems but throughout the game we remained resilient and while we’re disappointed in the result, we knew we left everything out there and I think the fans saw that at the end of the game.
“Ten minutes away from extra time hurts but it was an experience to learn from. We battled right until the end, everyone worked so hard and gave all they had in the tank.
“Our keeper Chrissie [Wiggins] was different class at times keeping us in that game, she pulled off some amazing saves at crucial moments.”
The Lionesses are back in action in the London & South East Women’s Regional Football League Premier Division when they take on Aylesford at St Paul’s this weekend.
Millwall are up to third in the table, level on points with Fulham and seven behind Ashford Town.
“As a team we want to win, we have a mindset that we are going out to win, this doesn’t change despite the score [against Wimbledon],” Ivison said. “We will go back into training and put full focus towards Aylesford. We will continue to work hard and get back to winning ways.
“Our focus is fully on this league and finishing as high as possible. There’s a buzz in the camp and we want this run in the league to continue.”