There was a more familiar look to the Newlaithes starting line-up against Barrow Celtic with the return of Becky Rush & Chloe Moore and with Carly Stevenson in from the start, playing in an unfamiliar central defensive role. However Newlaithes were without keeper Lauren Crofts due to work commitments so Chloe Moore stood in goal. The pitch although reasonably flat, was dry and bumpy and there was a steady light breeze from one end.
Newlaithes made a nervy start and for the first five minutes were guilty of passing the ball straight back to Celtic whenever they won it. Barrow on the other hand looked assured from the off and passed the ball with confidence. However on 5 minutes, Newlaithes made the breakthrough, somewhat against the run of play when Vicki Metcalfe laid the ball out square to Alison McCorry on the right wing from just inside the Barrow half. Alison sprinted down the line in trademark fashion leaving a string of defenders in her wake as she jinked her way into the area before firing home from the tightest of angles. This gave Newlaithes a lift and they started to gain composure as the game developed into a tense midfield battle, with Becky Rush and Paige Williams keeping things really tight in the middle and Carly Stevenson, Jade Williams, Hannah Whitford and U16 starlet Lydia McGuiness looking solid at the back. The Newlaithes players seemed content to let Barrow pass the ball around and looked dangerous on the break but Barrow keeper Kate Bloomer was on top form, charging off her line time and time again to claim any through balls. Alison McCorry came close when she again broke free down the right but unfortunately her shot flew straight at the Barrow keeper but on 28 Minutes, Lydia McGuiness played the ball out from defence and away went Alison McCorry on another mazy run, this time clearing the keeper's head and in at the far post for number two. At the other end, Barrow had their first real break when they broke free into the right-hand side of the area and they looked odds-on to score but the pass across goal ran just behind the unmarked striker and the chance was lost. Then they looked to break down the left but Jade Williams was in uncompromising form as she slid in with a crunching tackle that had the large crowd drawing breath. Chelsea Norris was unlucky for Newlaithes when she beat the offside trap left of centre, but again Kate Bloomer was up to the challenge. Then Alison McCorry broke free, this time down the middle but her shot flew over. Then it was Barrow's turn to break into the Newlaithes area, left of centre but Newlaithes keeper Chloe Moore slid in with a crunching tackle of her own to clear. Chelsea Norris broke again down the left but Kate Bloomer was on hand to tip the shot across goal out for a corner. Then as the seconds ticked away to half-time it was more heroics from Chloe Moore as she dived to her right turn a stinging Barrow shot round the post. Half-time 0-2.
It was more of the same as both teams battled frantically but it was Newlaithes who increased their lead when Tasha Scott raced onto another through ball from Lydia McGuiness with a defender in hot pursuit. Out came Kate Bloomer once again to claim the ball but Tasha went down under the challenges of keeper and defender and a penalty was awarded. Tasha stepped up to take the kick herself and struck the ball firmly into the bottom left-hand corner, with the keeper going the other way. However the Newlaithes lead was pegged back three minutes later when Carly Stevenson fouled a Barrow forward on the right-hand edge of the area near the bye-line. The free kick was floated across and the Barrow forward rose perfectly to bury the ball into the back of the net. Newlaithes defender Hannah Whitford was forced to leave the pitch as she had twisted her knee earlier in the Barrow move and was replaced by Katie Johnston with Chelsea Norris dropping back to left back. Now it was Barrow's turn to put Newlaithes under pressure as gaps began to appear in the Newlaithes back-line and they almost pulled another back shortly afterwards but for a magnificent double save by Chloe Moore, firstly diving to parry away a thunderbolt shot from point blank range then sliding to clear the loose ball as it bobbled about in the Newlaithes area. At the other end Newlaithes continued to attack on the counter but they lost their composure somewhat with several shots taken off-balance that didn't trouble the keeper. However at the back they did gather themselves together and began to look more solid again and as the minutes ticked away with tiring legs, the chances dried up for both sides with Newlaithes claiming a hard-fought 3-1 victory.
This was a great game with two evenly matched sides. Barrow passed the ball with composure while the Newlaithes team looked much more solid defending as a unit in complete contract to the previous week when the game had been wide open. Nevertheless there were good chances at both ends and but for the heroic efforts of both keepers, the scoreline could have been higher. Newlaithes player of the match was Chloe Moore, who had reluctantly volunteered to go in nets until half-time but then insisted on staying in right to the end and good job she did. Special mention also for Becky Rush who covered a lot of ground in midfield during the first half and then looked alert at the centre of defence in the 2nd half when she swapped with Carly Stevenson.
With no game next week our next outing will be on Sunday 27th October at home to Carlisle City at Rickerby Park, 11:30 kick-off.
