Ossett Albion 3-2 Bradford Park Avenue Ladies
A return to Ossett with completely different weather conditions, this time it was warm and it was against Albion in the FA Cup. Albion sit a league above the Avenue Ladies so from the start it was always going to be a tough ask to get a result away from home, however the way the game began it would be hard to tell which team was the higher placed.
Right from the off Avenue dominated the game, pressing in the middle of the park to gain possession and bursting forward attacking the goal. Within minutes the ladies had created multiple shots through Sarah Huby, Annie Roberts, Dani Williams and Laura Wolfenden and it was becoming evident that Albion had a very talented keeper between the sticks.
Time after time the ladies won possession, looked to move the ball out wide and set up chances, Sophie Mitchell in particular was causing some real problems for the Albion defence, but all chances went begging. Albion got through once or twice but Amy Jones and her back line of Walton, Nelson and Ogden were holding firm and clearing up any danger that came their way. Albion forced a corner which was superbly dealt with by the Avenue ladies turning defence into attack and gaining 60 metres of ground.
The ladies carried on pressing but still Albions keeper stood stong. Against the run of play though Albion broke and took the lead and soon after doubled it. It would have been natural for the Ladies heads to lower but they didn't, they dusted themselves down and played on. Annie Roberts latched on to a through ball and fearlessly colided with the Albion shot stopper, both down and the ball trickled past the post.
Albion broke again and with their 3rd real attack scored their 3rd goal! Again Avenue responded, a huge effort ploughing forward, winning corners, taking shots and generally dominating every area of play. Eventually on 41 minutes the pressure paid off when some lovely passing football between Laura Wolfenden and Sarah Huby saw the captain hit home and a further gear was found by the Avenue Ladies.
As the second half started so did the solid performance, no signs of the slow starts of recent weeks as Megan Medley (on for Annie Roberts) made her presence felt immediately terrifying the Albion defence with her blitering pace and sharp changes of direction. It took till the 47th minute for this work rate to pay off, Medley ran on to a pass beat the defender, but her shot was parried by the keeper, Wolfenden wasn't prepared to let the chance go begging though as she followed in and slotted into the empty net.
Albion where in in a fight, and they knew it, time after time the ladies rushed forward but despite a mass of attempts the ball would not settle in the net. The crowd held their breaths around the 77 minute mark when Sarah Huby hit a beautiful shot from outside the area, all anyone could do was watch it dipping but unfortunately it landed just on the roof of the net not under the bar.
With 25 to go a switch was made, Sarah Opie coming on for her debut whilst Claire Hancock took a well deserved rest. Mitchell, who had destroyed the Albion defence from the wing, was partenered with Medley upfront and the Albion defence had a problem. Time after time passes into the channels created oppourtunities, time after time the Albion keeper thwarted them.
As the clock ran down the home side repeatedly asked the ref how long was left which showed they were worrying, an Avenue equaliser was coming! But sadly as the full time whistle rang out it had not come.
The ladies left the field tired, aching but proud. They had once again shown they are more than capable of mixing it with teams from higher leagues. They controlled the entire game and on another day would have run riot. Not one player had a bad game, Amy Jones made some vital stops in goals, the back three worked tirelessly all afternoon, and created from the back, Wolfenden and Mitchell ran the show from the wings and Opie when on caused her fair share of problems for her opposite number, Williams, Hancock and Chamberlain in midfield commanded the game and their players like army generals whilst Huby, Roberts and Medley upfront broke down the higher leagues defence with ease.
Although the ladies won't be in the next round of the FA Cup they can take great confidence from this display, if they continue playing football like this not only will they get results, they will be a pleasure to watch so I recommend more people come to watch them. The supporters that did this Sunday were certainly entertained and we thank them for their support.
Next Week the Ladies are at home to Amaranth in the League Cup 2pm ko at the Horsfall Stadium.
Other results:
West Riding County Premier:
Harrogate Railway 12-0 Ossett Town
Womens FA Cup 1QRd:
Hull City 4-1 Brighouse Sporting
Farsley 0-4 Steel City Wanderers
