- LCFC Women were defeated 1-0 at Bristol City in the Continental Tyres League Cup Semi-Finals
- Midfielder Sophie Barker spoke to LCFC TV after City's cup run came to an end
- The 30-year-old was proud of the performance, as the second-tier Foxes faced top-flight opposition
- Attention now returns to the FA Women's Championship campaign, Barker continues
Running out against Barclays Super League opposition in Bristol City, the FA Women's Championship table-toppers were looking to become the first second-tier side to reach the final.
However, despite an admirable effort at Twerton Park in Bath, a 72nd-minute effort from Kiera Skeels for the Robins sealed a 1-0 win and denied the Foxes a chance to face Chelsea in the showpiece.
While naturally disappointed not to have continued that intrepid cup run, Barker, who adorned the captain's armband on Wednesday, could not fault the effort on show from her team-mates.
"I’m so proud of the girls," the former Sheffield United midfielder told LCFC TV at full-time. "We went toe-to-toe with a Super League side and I couldn’t be any prouder.
"For us to be disappointed in a loss against a team that are a league above is an achievement in itself, and for us to be here in the first place, so I’m really proud of them.
"We’re a brand new bunch of girls, so for us to get this far in the competition, it's a credit to us really and the fact we’ve come off disappointed is amazing.
"We could have gone to a final, which we never ever thought we’d get, so we left everything out on that pitch. We fought to the end and they really had to dig deep for that win."
While there were several near misses for the Foxes, the visitors just couldn't find the net on Wednesday, but Barker says they will now go away and prepare to return to league duties.
"It was just one of those games," the 30-year-old added. "Even at the end, if Millie [Farrow] gets a toe on it, it’s in. We just didn’t convict our shots as much as we should have.
"To be honest, I think their ‘keeper is the player of the match. She’s pulled out some worldie saves to stop us from scoring.
"Now focus goes straight back to the league. Durham’s our next game and that’s probably the biggest game of our season, so we’ll spend the next two weeks in training focusing on that.
"We’ll look at how they play and how we play, analysing this game and what we didn’t do so well, and hopefully we can put that on the pitch and put it right."