LTHC Ladies 1st XI 3 vs Staveley XI 0
MRHAWL – Midlands Feeder East
Saturday 12th October 2019
Coming off the back of two high scoring wins, Loughborough Town Ladies 1st XI took to the pitch hoping for another strong performance against recently promoted Staveley.
Having themselves been on the losing side of two hefty defeats in the opening two weekends, Staveley set out on the defensive from the first whistle. Despite enjoying the lion’s share of the possession and with keeper Harriet Galpin nothing more than a spectator, Town struggled to work through the crowded Staveley circle and found their attacking flair somewhat stifled in the early parts of the game. Even short corners, which in previous weeks had produced results, did not seem to going Town’s way and as the half dragged on, it seemed Town could be heading into the break with a draw.
Town had chances as Emily Hill’s blistering baseline drive picked out debutant Zoe Wright on the penalty spot, but some smart goalkeeping was enough to put Wright off her balance and the ball went wide of the post. Minutes later, Ellie Sloper’s powerful strike from the right of the circle was smartly saved by the Staveley keeper to keep her team in the match. Finally, the deadlock was broken as Zoe Hainsworth connected with a cross field ball and beat the Staveley keeper for the 1-0 lead Town had been striving for.
With just minutes left in the half, Town pressed on and a clever passage of play found a Staveley foot in their own circle. Katherine Laws’ injection was quickly moved to the right by Georgina Godfrey where Emily Burgwin was waiting to powerfully sweep the ball into the goal for Town’s second.
Going into the second half 2-0 up, Town hoped to regain the settled passages of play they had enjoyed at the end of the first. However, yet again Town struggled to find any rhythm and Staveley completely shut up shop defensively. With some hard work, Town did manage to grab a third goal just 10 minutes into the half, with Emily Hill’s diving reverse effort finding the backboard.
However the frustration of the first half began to creep in and despite controlling possession, things were simply not falling Town’s way. Staveley did manage some attacking movements but Helen Lowe’s hard work at centre back ensured that apart from one save, Galpin’s goal was not troubled. Right at the end of the match, Town could have grabbed a fourth from a short corner, but some fine defensive work from Staveley saw the ball just miss Katherine Laws’ outstretched stick.
Despite the below-par performance from Town, the three points were sealed with the 3-0 win – on balance a good result for the morning. Town remain at the top of the league table heading into a difficult match next Saturday against Ashbourne.
