Problem converting 'even though' clause to 'despite' clause: 'Despite losing...'?

Question

I stumbled across this question in 'Intermediate Language Practice' by Michael Vince: 'Even though they were losing at half-time, City won in the end. Despite________________________________' The answer given is 'Despite losing at half-time, City won in the end.' For me, the answer doesn't work. Something like 'Despite being behind at half-time...' would be better. However, I am having trouble explaining *why* it doesn't work. Is it because the tenses for 'lose' and 'win' do not agree in the original 'even though' sentence so there is ambiguity when you try and reduce 'were losing' to 'losing' because the 'won in the end' makes us read the subordinate clause as 'they lost'?

Answer 1

You are correct in reducing "were losing" to "losing." The answer makes sense because it connects two statements into one sentence. Instead of saying "City won in the end, despite losing at half time," makes the sentence seem as if it were saying City lost the game at half time instead of picking it up in the second half of the game. Semantically, it communicates its message more clearly when "City won in the end" is the subordinate clause. Hope this helps.