Rugby Town Women v Bewdley Town Ladies

West Midlands Regional Women Division 1 South – League Game

Sunday 7^th January    

Squad:  Katie (Captain) Leah, Caitlin, Nicole, Kelly, Grace, Ellie, Amber, Ava, Amy, Kirsty

Substitutes:  Kelsey, Milly G, Laura M, Robyn

Sponsor: Melbros, Jamesway Travel, Keller, ASG Precision, Gripper Differentials, LH Services Ltd

First Half

Rugby returned to league fixtures today after the Christmas break and hosted Bewdley Town Ladies in a reverse fixture after the Bewdley pitch was flooded due to the recent heavy rain.  Rugby were looking to maintain their strong run and make it 5 league games unbeaten.

It was a lively start for both teams with neither side retaining possession for long and most action being seen in midfield.   Bewdley got an early shot in but with little power behind the ball, it proved to be an easy collect for Leah.

Bewdley won a free kick and then a corner in quick succession but both plays were well managed by Rugby and there was no threat to the home side.

Bewdley took advantage of a mistake by Rugby in the middle of the pitch and pressed well, but the resulting shot was wide of the mark.

21’ Ellie <-> Kelsey

Another Bewdley corner, again cleared by Rugby with minimal fuss.

Rugby pressed and some nice passing up the field allowed Kelsey to provide a good final run, but her shot was just wide of the upright.

Bewdley again took control of the game and won 2 free kicks in quick success, they couldn’t make either count and the score remains level at 0-0.

Rugby press again and this time the momentum looked positive, Nicole finds the back of the net but excitement soon turned to disappointment as the offside flag was raised.

42’ Ava <-> Laura M

Rugby won 2 free kicks and a corner as in the dying minutes of the first half.  The corner was initially cleared but the ball was knocked about the Bewdley penalty areas before finally coming to Grace who played a fantastic shot in from the right and only a very well executed dive from the Bewdley keeper kept Rugby from opening the scoreline.

Second Half

Rugby won an early corner but couldn’t convert.  The ball was cleared and Bewdley then rampaged up the pitch with a lightning break, which was only stopped by a ferocious tackle by Amber which indeed stopped the play, but unfortunately provided Bewdley with a penalty.

Unluckily for Bewdley, but certainly lucky for Rugby, the Bewdley player struck wide from the penalty spot.

60’ Kelly <-> Milly

Rugby win a free kick again but Bewdley won possession back quicky and played the ball quickly and their efficient play caught Rugby on the back foot to open the scoring, leaving Ruby with some work to do.

Both teams were visibly tiring now and it was slow going to get some decent play going.   Rugby were working to find the space to create play.   Kelsey was brought down just outside the Bewdley box and Rugby were awarded the free kick, the ball just kissing the top of the crossbar as it sailed over leaving Rugby still trailing.

75’ Amy <-> Robyn

Rugby continued to look for the equaliser and several players were moving the ball well in the Bewdley defensive third, finally, Milly managed to find the time and space to square the ball into Kelsey,  who tapped the ball in past the left of the keeper for a delightful equaliser.

80’ Kelsey <-> Ellie

In the final 10 minutes, there was plenty of back and forth between the two teams and little could separate them, with neither side looking much like scoring.   The afternoon was getting colder and the players (and coaches) looked like they were anticipating the final whistle and were reconciled to sharing the points.

A final bit of drama saw a slightly confusing situation where Katie received both a yellow card and a sin bin for kicking the ball into the corner for a corner that turned out to be a goal kick.  But by this time players, officials and spectators were a bit numb and other than a few grumbles, were glad to see out the game.

Summary

Rugby Town Women 1 – 1 Droitwich Spa

The draw sees Rugby extend their unbeaten run in the league to 5 games and are sitting bang in the middle of the league table in 6^th place.

Thank you to Referee Mike, Linesman James and for the support at Butlin Road today.  The team really appreciate it.

Rugby now prepare for a long spell of away fixtures and expect our next home game to be in early March.