Ladies 1st XI Match Report
Welwyn 1st XI v Potters Bar Ladies 1st XI
15 October 2011 | by Lucy Edwards
The PB Ladies 1st XI had a 2:30pm pushback away against Welwyn Garden City Ladies 1st XI at the University of Hertfordshire De Havilland pitch. The sun was shining bright and things were looking cheery. All 11 players (some wobblier than others after a few Friday night antics) eventually made it to the pitch for a good warm up led by Anna Walker. The local press were quick (for worry of breaking their lens) to snap a team photo and Meme soon realised that nobody had brought a kettle with them so her old, dog chewed gumshield would have to suffice.
An inspiring team talk from Captain Lucy Edwards prepared us for the match ahead. Bar had the first push back and kept good possession of the ball. There was excellent movement from the centre mids, Anna Walker and Caroline Partridge, making it easy for the ball to be switched from side to side. Lucy Edwards and Shelley Farmer both made some great early runs down the wings to show the opposition that we meant business and a shot on goal by Farmer gave us a penalty flick when the opposition got a foot in the way. Walker stepped up to the spot to take the shot but sadly the keeper saved.
Bar were quick to get back and defend Welwyn’s hit out. It was obvious they weren’t going to let us win easily. Welwyn did have a few fast break outs and our defensive line all put in a cracking performance. Meme safely secured the centre and Amy Li put in some great tackles to stop the ball advancing down their right wing. Jess Gilbey made sure everyone was man-marked and was able to intercept and make her way down the side line, putting the ball back into Bar’s half. The loud communications from the back definitely helped and it goes without saying that Jo Spinks saved the day on a few occasions – excellent keeping!
The ball was moving well for us but the bouncy pitch made harder work. Caroline Stanners, Sarah Jowett, Partridge and Sherlock all had shots on goal but the keeper was not to be beaten. The whistle blew for half time and the score remained 0-0…
Welwyn came out fast at the beginning of the 2nd half but the Bar ladies kept their cool and upped the game even more. Plenty of shots on goal were had but the keeper was determined not to be beaten. Li and Edwards both had great shots on goal but annoyingly they rebounded back off the post. It was starting to get tense and a couple of lifts in the D from the opposition secured us with a few short corners. Once again, their keeper denied us any success. However, our breakthrough came from a fumbled hit out which enabled Lucy Edwards to intercept the ball and beautifully knock it on to Anna Walker at top D who smacked it into goal far right, absolutely text book style.
Potters Bar remained in control for the remaining minutes and the whistle blew to secure us with a 1-0 win! The sun was also still shining.
Final Score: Welwyn Garden City 0 - 1 Potters Bar
Goal Scorers: Anna Walker
Team: Jo Spinks (gk), Lucy Edwards (c), Jess Gilbey, Meme, Amy Li, Emily Sherlock, Caroline Partridge, Anna Walker, Caroline Stanners, Shelley Farmer, Sarah Jowett
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