The Ladies faced the arduous 80 odd mile trip to Dalton for the re-arranged mid-week fixture at Dalton and were down to the bare bones with a number of players missing. Three points would take them to the top on goal difference.
The pitch was very patchy, dry and uneven and there was a slight slope top to bottom.
Newlaithes started brightly and for the first 20 minutes took the game to Dalton, restricting them to long clearances down the pitch. However, Newlaithes were struggling with the bumpy pitch and were unable to retain possession to any degree, with their best chance falling to Claire but her shot went over. Dalton then began to make the most of the conditions and came back at Newlaithes, forcing them deeper and deeper. A defensive mix-up almost let Dalton in but Abbie came off her line to save with her foot. As the game progressed it was nearly all Dalton as time after time, Newlaithes failed to close them down. When Newlaithes did win possession, their retension was poor and the ball went straight back to Dalton. Shots were raining in from Dalton but fortunately, the majority were off target or straight to Abbie. At the other end Newlaithes battled to find an opening on the break but everything was hurried and shots were either off target or the Dalton keeper mopped up anything that came her way. Then Newlaithes had Abbie to thank again when she dived to her left to stop a stinging shot that came from the right hand side of the area. Despite Dalton having the upper hand, the score remained 0-0 at half time.
After much soul searching, Newlaithes kicked off the second half and put their best move of the match together with a string of one-touch passes to put Dalton under pressure. However Dalton were clinical in defence and looked to take control once more but this time Newlaithes were quicker to close down and were able to maintain the territorial balance, with both teams now attacking on the break. Dalton still had the upper hand in midfield, with the Newlaithes players guilty on occasions of failing to mark their opponents tightly enough then diving into the challenge but their defence held firm. Then in the 74th minute the Newlaithes players were outraged when the referee awarded a penalty after Jade tackled a Dalton forward to put the ball out for a corner, however the Dalton player fell over her legs after the ball had been played and the ref pointed to the spot to Newlaithes' dismay. The Dalton keeper stepped up to blast the ball to Abbie's right and although Abbie went the right way, she was unable to get to the ball. Some of the the Newlaithes players were infuriated but to no avail. As the minutes ticked by, both teams had a number of breakaway opportunities but the score remained 1-0 to Dalton at the final whistle for the Ladies' first league defeat of the season.
This was probably this Newlaithes team's worst performance ever. However there were several contributing factors; the long trip, hurried preparation (which wasn't helped by a last minute change of venue), the awful condition of the pitch and while the referee cannot be blamed for the way Newlaithes played, suffice to say the highly contentious penalty decision has cost us the match. However, let's not take anything away from Dalton, they made the best of the conditions, were by far the better team on the day and they fully deserved their win.
Newlaithes player of the match was Abbie for keeping us in the game with several quality saves, particularly in the first half.
So - with two games to play, Newlaithes now know that they have to win their last two games in order to guarantee a play-off for the title with current leaders Abbeytown. Are they up to the challenge?
The situation is reversed next Wednesday when Dalton are faced with the long trip up to Carlisle, 6:30 ko at Rickerby.
