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Sat 13 Nov 2021 · Women's Division 7 South West
Blueharts 6
Ladies 2nd XI
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The one where we were shared the news about a new baby boy!
Julie Halsey19 Nov 2021 - 18:52
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Written by Saarah Sayed
Luton Ladies 2s
With a sloppy defeat last week, Luton Ladies 2s were determined to get back to winning ways and this week their opponents were 4th place, Blueharts. It was a six-pointer for both teams with the third place league position on the stake.
Luton had a fierce start to the game bringing on the red attack from the whistle. A first minute goal was ruled out for striker, Sweet, as she guided the ball into the back of the net, but only after the whistle was blown for a short corner. The advantage had not been played but had that been given, it would have been the dream start.
The corner did not go as planned and heads had dropped in disbelief. Blueharts’ players knew they were lucky to be level and took confidence from this. It was attack versus attack for the next 10 minutes with chances falling to either side continuously; far from a stable, controlled performance, it was like a game of pinball.
As the first half went on, Blueharts started dominating the possession and it was attack versus defence for a very long time. Some crucial goal-line clearances from Amii and last-minute perfectly timed challenges from Kerri Wheadon and Helen Beattie maintained Luton’s clean sheet as the reds went in level at the break.
Some important changes were made at half-time including extra defensive cover on the top of the diamond and two attacking midfielders instead of the starting three.
The 3-4-3 formation definitely helped Luton see more of the ball with better transitions from defence into attack. Clearances were starting to find a red player on the end of the pass a few excellent runs from Emma Halsey took a lot of pressure off Luton’s backline.
Luton’s first shot on target in the second half game very early on in a 1v1 with Hiba Zaidi firing it straight down the middle. More shots followed by Lindsey and Emmaa had fallen just short with the Blueharts keeper saving them repeatedly.
The closest chance of the evening went to forward, Saarah Sayed who’s right-handed strike was illegitimately stopped on the line by a Blueharts’ defender’s foot, but upon deflection, came right back into her path for an easy tap-in in the right hand corner, however, the whistle had been blown for a penalty flick.
With 5 minutes to go, Helen Beattie courageously stepped up to take on the Blueharts’ keeper. It was hands-in-mouth for both sides as they knew this could be the deciding factor of the game. After such an intense, end-to-end, 70 minutes, Luton could steal all 3 points away from home and put on the pressure at the top of the table.
It wasn’t meant to be.
A few missed opportunities from both sides ended the game with a 0-0 score line. A point away from home wasn’t too bad in the end with player of the match going to Darla with a relentless performance at the back and some inch-perfect blocks and interceptions. An overall improved performance from the reds but plenty to work on for next week.
With a sloppy defeat last week, Luton Ladies 2s were determined to get back to winning ways and this week their opponents were 4th place, Blueharts. It was a six-pointer for both teams with the third place league position on the stake.
Luton had a fierce start to the game bringing on the red attack from the whistle. A first minute goal was ruled out for striker, Sweet, as she guided the ball into the back of the net, but only after the whistle was blown for a short corner. The advantage had not been played but had that been given, it would have been the dream start.
The corner did not go as planned and heads had dropped in disbelief. Blueharts’ players knew they were lucky to be level and took confidence from this. It was attack versus attack for the next 10 minutes with chances falling to either side continuously; far from a stable, controlled performance, it was like a game of pinball.
As the first half went on, Blueharts started dominating the possession and it was attack versus defence for a very long time. Some crucial goal-line clearances from Amii and last-minute perfectly timed challenges from Kerri Wheadon and Helen Beattie maintained Luton’s clean sheet as the reds went in level at the break.
Some important changes were made at half-time including extra defensive cover on the top of the diamond and two attacking midfielders instead of the starting three.
The 3-4-3 formation definitely helped Luton see more of the ball with better transitions from defence into attack. Clearances were starting to find a red player on the end of the pass a few excellent runs from Emma Halsey took a lot of pressure off Luton’s backline.
Luton’s first shot on target in the second half game very early on in a 1v1 with Hiba Zaidi firing it straight down the middle. More shots followed by Lindsey and Emmaa had fallen just short with the Blueharts keeper saving them repeatedly.
The closest chance of the evening went to forward, Saarah Sayed who’s right-handed strike was illegitimately stopped on the line by a Blueharts’ defender’s foot, but upon deflection, came right back into her path for an easy tap-in in the right hand corner, however, the whistle had been blown for a penalty flick.
With 5 minutes to go, Helen Beattie courageously stepped up to take on the Blueharts’ keeper. It was hands-in-mouth for both sides as they knew this could be the deciding factor of the game. After such an intense, end-to-end, 70 minutes, Luton could steal all 3 points away from home and put on the pressure at the top of the table.
It wasn’t meant to be.
A few missed opportunities from both sides ended the game with a 0-0 score line. A point away from home wasn’t too bad in the end with player of the match going to Darla with a relentless performance at the back and some inch-perfect blocks and interceptions. An overall improved performance from the reds but plenty to work on for next week.
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