29th January 2022 Luton town ladies 1's Vs Stevenage 3's

Luton Town Ladies 1st XI pulled off a thrilling performance versus Stevenage this weekend in their race for promotion.

Keen to redeem themselves for losing to Stevenage the first time round, the game started strongly with Luton controlling play and dominating possession. Luton had several shots taken by Suzanne Starkey and Rachel Shadbolt, however were blocked by the opposition keeper.

One quick counter-attack led to a Stevenage short corner and, despite striking the ball at thigh height, the goal was allowed and the home side took the lead.

Despite being on the back foot in terms of the scoreline, Luton were still the stronger team on the pitch, and it was only a matter of time before Luton equalised through a short corner set play between Starkey and Chelsea Wright which was identical to the goal they scored together last weekend!

With the scoreline level at 1-1 going into the break, Luton were keen to add to their goal tally upon the restart and secure the win.
However, Stevenage’s snack on half-time oranges must have given them an added boost, because they came out incredibly strong for the first 10 minutes of the half.

Stevenage again set Luton on the back foot after a ball found it’s way through the Luton defence to a lone high striker, who charged at goal and was one-on-one with the Luton keeper Tam Clark. Despite her best efforts, there was nothing she could do as the ball sailed into the back of the net.

This goal spurred a renewed vigour into the Luton team, and within minutes they were again controlling play. A Stevenage foot in the circle led to a Luton short corner, this time slipped wide to Clare Philby, whose strike found another foot and led to another short corner.
The second time around saw a lot of ping-pong with the keeper, however Starkey’s resulting opportunity was saved by Stevenage with a deliberate foot on the goal-line, and a penalty flick was awarded to Luton.

Ashley Masukusa stepped up to take it and, after some schooling from the umpires on how a flick is taken, she deftly slotted the ball past the keeper’s outstretched stick and into the back of the net.

The scoreline was now 2-2 with 15 minutes to go, and Luton were frantically looking for the win. The closest chance came from a fantastic cross into circle, which Masukusa got a touch on and lifted high above the keeper, unfortunately just too high for Ellie Shadbolt-Mackay to reach for a mid-air tap-in!

As the umpires signalled two minutes left on the clock, Luton knew they had to turn the magic on to clinch this victory.
A fantastic run down the left wing by Charlotte Dunham was sent into circle, perfectly timed for a diving Masukusa to chip the ball past the keeper’s outstretched stick. The ball sailed across the face of the goal - the Stevenage team certain it was going wide - before hitting the inside of the right post and rolling into the goal. As the Luton players on the sideline cheered, the whistle was blown for full-time.

Masukusa won Player of the Match - for obvious reasons!

Next week sees Luton take on Hertford at home at 12pm.