Loughborough Town Ladies keep promotion hopes alive
LEICESTER 3RD XI 1 LOUGHBOROUGH TOWN
LADIES 1ST XI 3 FOLLOWING on from a disappointing loss last weekend, Loughborough Town Ladies 1st XI knew only a win against Leicester 3s would keep their promotion dreams alive.
Straight from the whistle the Ladies showed their intent, attacking the Leicester end with confidence. Forwards Gee Godfrey and Emily Hill enjoyed surging runs into the opposition’s D, their pace leaving the Leicester defence struggling to cope.
Before long, Town won their first penalty corner of the match. A smart injection from Annie Piper was slipped left by Gee Godfrey to sister Ash Godfrey who calmly slapped the ball past a stranded Leicester keeper.
Still Town wanted more and contin- ued to pile on the pressure to a relatively young Leicester side which before long paid dividends. Leicester’s centre back passed the ball straight to Annie Piper, who instinctively drove to goal and smashed the ball home for Town’s second.
Towards the end of the first half, Leicester put together some better attacks, with keeper Harriet Galpin being called into action several times, coolly diverting shots and keeping the score line at 2-0 going into the break.
The second half started much the same as the first, Town producing wonderful linking play characteristic of a team that have consistently played together all season long. Emma Calvert robbed a Leicester player of the ball in the middle of the pitch and produced a storming run up the wing. Calvert completed at one-two pass with Gee God- frey before giving the ball to a waiting Emily Hill, who rounded the keeper for a spectacular third team goal.
As the game went on, Leicester’s resolve and effort increased and Town found themselves having to deal with surging attacks from some young and speedy players. The young Leicester side struggled to cope with Town’s physicality but their spirit was eventually rewarded by a fine shot that found its way past Galpin - only the 11th league goal that Town have conceded this season.
In the final five minutes, Leicester were reduced to 10 with another green card handed out by the umpires, but Town were unable to capitalise - the final score 3-1 to the Ladies, who now need a win in their final game of the season and for Loughborough Students 4s to drop points to take the league title.