15th January 2022 - Luton Town Ladies 1st XI v Rickmansworth 1s

A tough game for Luton Town Ladies 1st XI this weekend away at Rickmansworth, with several girls having caught COVID over the festive season and still feeling the after-effects of it.

Luton got off to a strong start, however Rickmansworth’s familiarity with their bouncier-than-usual pitch worked in their favour and they were soon encroaching on the Luton goal.

Luton keeper Tamara Clark did well to make some fantastic saves, however was unable to get the clearances she needed, leading to some scraps on the goal-line and within 15 minutes the home side were leading 3-0.

Luton’s closest opportunities in the first half came via successive short corners; the first of which, having been struck by Suzanne Starkey, ricocheting off the post and onto a Rickmansworth foot; and the second, slipped left to Clare Philby, sailing past the defenders before ultimately being saved by the home side’s keeper.

As Luton we’re still struggling to find their feet in the game, Rickmansworth managed to slot in a further two goals, taking it to 5-0 at half time.

On the restart, Luton changed their formation slightly and it worked fantastically, with much more cohesive play and several more opportunities.

Defender Ayse Samiloglulari earned the well-deserved title of Player of the Match for her work throughout the game, constantly pushing the team and making multiple successful challenges on the Rickmansworth attackers. In the second half she even found herself in the Rickmansworth circle, having a shot herself that was unfortunately saved.

As the fatigue started to set in near the end of the game, Rickmansworth found their opportunity to extend their lead with two short corners. Chelsea Wright had a fantastic run-out, however in the first short corner the ball bobbled over her stick, giving Rickmansworth the opportunity to have a shot, and in the second short corner the home side utilised a well-worked set piece routine to slot it past the Luton defence.

Not the result the girls were hoping for in the first game of the new year, but the race for promotion is still firmly on and they’ll be looking to resume their winning streak from next week!