LTHC Ladies 3rd XI 2 at Charnwood Sileby Ladies 1st XI 2
LRHA Ladies – Premier Division
Sunday 10th November 2019
After a disappointing defeat the day before, the Ladies 3rd XI arrived at Soar Valley Leisure Centre desperate for a better result. One opening positive was the increase in temperature as the Town team warmed up.
Again, the game started with a minute’s silence for Remembrance Sunday followed by a final team huddle that was designed to lift spirits to the game ahead.
The first quarter saw Town spend a reasonable amount of time defending some aggressive attacking play by a very experienced Charnwood team. As usual the Town defensive line up fought valiantly assisted by a very mobile midfield, unfortunately, despite a great effort Charnwood scored a scrappy goal early in the first half. However, they were not in the lead for long, as Town’s forward and midfield put into action their aggressive press that started to frustrate the Charnwood defence. This press held the ball high leading to a beautifully set up and goal from Henrietta Lewis. The first half finished with a 1-1 scoreboard.
As the second half started the team were rendered one woman down, when star defender Iris Broekhuijzen received a green card. A quick reshuffle to plug the defence allowed Town to keep the score at 1-1. Town back at full strength soon found that they had a woman advantage after a yellow card for one of the opposition.
The resounding success of the W-press rang true in the second half too, as Town gave Charnwood no options at every free hit. This tactic eventually manifested into another Town goal by Ella Patel. Clearly, concerned about the score line, Charnwood stepped up their attack, holding the ball in Town’s defensive half for the remainder of the final quarter.
The defensive line put up a noble fight, successfully fending off three consecutive shorts however one final onslaught from Charnwood saw a last gasp goal for the opposition. With a few minutes remaining on the clock, Town tried desperately to clear the ball up field for one last opportunity on Charnwood’s goal but to no avail.
The final score was a well fought 2-2 and the first non-loss result for Town this season, a clear sign that the team is getting more and more familiar with each other and a promising thought going forward.