Luton Town Ladies 1st XI v Saffron Walden 2nd XI

Luton’s top Ladies team travelled to third placed Saffron Walden this Saturday. With Luton dangling precariously above relegation position in the 5 Counties Premier League they were well aware that this would be a tough challenge, especially with several regular players missing and not a substitute in sight. For once, Lady Luck, who has been largely absent until now, was finally found to be smiling on the visitors and that, coupled with some robust and resilient defending, ensured that they would take something from the game.

The opposition tactics started early, clearly intent on freezing Luton half to death in the changing rooms before they could set foot on the pitch. Like intrepid explorers the team spirit could not be dampened however and when the youthful, athletic looking players of the Walden team passed by, the visiting players could not help, but make comparisons. With several of the ‘less experienced’ Luton players missing someone thought it might be an interesting activity to calculate the average age of the team, which at 33 and a third turned out to be slightly higher than their average IQ, requiring as they did a calculator to carry out this basic mathematical process.

Saffron Walden started lively and for the vast majority of the first half, and in fact of the game, Luton struggled to clear the ball from their defensive circle, let alone get out of their own half. It was on the occasional break that they looked like they could be a threat to the Saffron Walden goal, but these were few and far between. It was therefore completely against the run of play when, just before half time, a perfectly weighted pass from Suzanne Starkey put Helen Beattie through on goal. Beattie, stepping up from the Ladies twos, where she has played in goal for the majority of the season, held her nerve under pressure from the opposition keeper and cooly slotted the ball into the back of the net. So into the break Luton were more than happy to be 1-0 ahead.

Unsurprisingly the Saffron Walden players started the second half like women possessed, with their most skilful players driving in hard at the Luton defence. After only a few minutes they succeeded in what they had failed to achieve for the entire first half and finally managed to find the back of the net, levelling the score line one all.

The onslaught from the Walden players continued and it took some determined defending from, Sally Kelly, Clare Philby, Jean Limpitlaw and Janet Gray alongside some excellent goalkeeping by Shannon Smith to prevent Walden from pulling ahead. Almost unbelievably the pattern of the first half would be repeated. Luton again broke from the back with Suzanne Starkey receiving the ball on her reverse, under pressure in the opposition's circle. Starkey’s ‘shot’, which was actually a very misdirected pass to captain Charlotte Dunham, somehow managed to bobble past the sticks of the opposition defenders and the foot of their goalkeeper and ended up (just about) over the goal line adding insult to injury for the home side who must of wondered just what they had to do to counteract the farcical good fortune of the visitors.

With the relentless attack of the Saffron Walden team it was probably justified that they would go on to grab a share of the points. Their break came shortly before the final whistle. Luton looked initially like they may have saved the shot off the line, but it was deemed to have crossed into the goal, before it was cleared. Final score 2-2.

Player of the match award could really have gone to any of the defenders, whose tenacious performance ensured that Luton took away a share of the points. It was however goalkeeper, Shannon Smith who received the prize. This may have been for her excellent performance, or alternatively it could be due to the fact that her youthfulness prevented the average age of the team from being even more elevated than it was. What was not in doubt was that it would be midfielder Emma Whitehall who would be awarded the ‘mare of the match award’ after not quite managing to have the requisite items of attire on her person at the start of the game, leaving certain teammates (and the umpire) in fits of giggles on the pitch despite the teams precarious position.

With 5 games to go Luton are still to be assured mid-table mediocrity, but a point from this tough away fixture will not have harmed their chances.