The Ladies kicked off the new season at home to Penrith AFC Development. Newlaithes had five new faces in the line-up while Penrith were boosted by the addition of four first team players due to the cancellation of their match.
The game got off to a lively start and Newlaithes took the lead after 3 minutes. New signing Danni chased down a through ball only to find her shot come back off the keepers legs. The re-bound flew to Katie O who was lurking just outside the box and she hit a screamer into the top corner beyond the grasp of the Penrith keeper. The lively pace continued and it wasn't long before Penrith were level. The ever dangerous Cheryl Brierley received the ball just inside the Newlaithes half. She turned, twisted and jinked her way past the Newlaithes defence to finish a brilliant solo effort. The game ebbed and flowed with both teams creating chances and Katie O came close when her close-range effort flew just over, then at the other end Chelsie Browbank hit a left-foot thunderbolt that Newlaithes stand-in keeper Lauren was able to parry out for a corner. Cheryl Brierley was having more and more influence on the game and she scored two more goals on 25 & 27 minutes to put Penrith 3-1 up. Newlaithes kept plugging away but the close season rustiness was evident as all too often they made life difficult for themselves by conceding possession cheaply with a string of unforced errors. However they were still creating chances and on 35 minutes they pulled one back when Paige slid in at the far post to finish a low cross from Katie O after some good work by Emma who was also making her debut. With the clock ticking towards half-time, Newlaithes needlessly conceded a corner on their left due to lack of communication. Newlaithes defended 3 successive corners - each time at the expense of another corner but at the fourth attempt, Emma Threlkeld got her head onto the ball to score Penrith's fourth while the Newlaithes defence stood motionless. As Newlaithes took the ball towards Penrith from the kick-off, they received a further blow when Paige was forced to leave the field after receiving one too many painful knocks on her ankle. Nevertheless Newlaithes held out for the final few minutes.
New signing Ashleigh came on for the start of the 2nd half with Katie O having to leave due to work commitments. Paige bravely continued although she was in some discomfort. Both sides were still creating openings but unfortunately Penrith were gifted another goal on 59 when a goal kick flew straight to Chelsie Browbank and she gladly buried the ball into the bottom corner. Despite that setback, Newlaithes were playing with more confidence as Emma began to threaten the Penrith defence. On 63 minutes, Paige picked up the ball in midfield and played out to Pat on the right. Pat threaded the ball through to Emma and she showed excellent skill and composure to jink her way round the Penrith defence to clip the ball home. Newlaithes continued to press and Ashleigh's battling qualities began to shine through as Newlaithes won more possession in midfield. Pat, Emma, Ashleigh, Paige and Danni all came close while at the other end Chelsie Browbank had several good efforts, hitting the post with one attempt from the left. Then Lauren made an excellent diving save after a Browbank shot deflected off Tasha as she slid in for the tackle. However on 68 minutes Penrith won a free kick 25 yards out and Cheryl Brierley hit a fizzing low shot that Lauren seemed to have covered but the greasy ball squeezed into the bottom corner. A few minutes later and Sam came on to make her debut, replacing Paige who was still struggling with the ankle. Newlaithes still kept battling away but the score remained 6-3 to Penrith at the final whistle.
Despite the scoreline, there was plenty to be encouraged about. Newlaithes created a lot of chances and there were positive performances from all five debutants. Both sides showed rustiness and both made unforced errors. It's fair to say that the big difference was the extra sharpness that the Penrith 1st team players brought to the game, with Cheryl Brierley and Chelsie Browbank causing problems up front, while Emma Threlkeld and goalkeeper Lisa Huston worked hard to keep Newlaithes at bay at the back. Nevertheless, Newlaithes had enough quality in the side to have got something out of the game and they created enough opportunities that really should have made the scoreline closer. However, this is only to be expected, these are early days, this is a new team and it will take time for the players to gel - but the signs are very positive.
Next Sunday we are at home to last season's champions Abbeytown, 11:30 kick-off.
