LTHC Ladies 3rd XI 0 at Leicester University Ladies 1st XI 5
LRHA Ladies – Cup
Saturday 26th January 2019
After a resounding 1st round win the Ladies 3rd XI were looking to progress into the semi-finals of the Cup, by dispatching Leicester who were in the league above them. Before the match even started Town were due to go out with the bare minimum 11 players. After leading them to a first round victory assistant captain Sarah Rose dropped out in the morning with an injured toe, leaving Town with 10.
Not to be put off by the lack of players Town still knew they could give Leicester a game on a slow pitch at Manor Road. Captain Sam Dalby back this week gave the team a rousing pre-match speech to get the team ready for the battle ahead.
The game started off as it ended with Town facing a barrage from Leicester’s attack. Not to be defeated Town had a few good breaks with a fantastic scoring opportunity in the 1st half when Maddie Herring broke free and was 1 on 1 with the keeper but her shot hit high on the outside netting. Half-time came and Town were still in the game at 0-0.
It wasn’t to remain scoreless for long, as the tireless running of the 10 lady team in the 1st half started to take its toll as the 2nd half progressed. Leicester finally broke the deadlock to take the lead, 1-0. The 2nd goal came during a spell which saw Town reduced further to 9 players due to an unfortunate green card resulting in a converted short corner to Leicester.
Three more goals followed to take the final score to 5-0, though it could have been more if not for the defence of goalkeeper Selena Cox, Iris Broekhuijzen, Ellen Johns, Rachel Taggart and Erilys Herring who worked tirelessly to keep the score down.
Even though the loss puts Town out of the Cup at the quarter final stage, Town can take great pride in the result especially with 10 players and Leicester in the league above them. Next week sees a return to league action as they hope to avenge this week’s result taking on Leicester University Ladies 2nd XI at home.
