26TH March Match Reports

GMHA Team Match Report

REDDISH EDGE CLOSER TO RELEGATION

After playing in a highly entertaining and successful fund raising tournament the previous day, it was back to the hard graft for the Greater Manchester team as they struggled to compete with the finesse of Bolton Ladies 2. Tiredness played a major part in the match as quick and accurate passing from Bolton put Reddish on the back foot in the early stages.

This was not what Reddish wanted as they needed to avoid defeat to relive some of the pressure brought on by the relegation battle. With a number of key players missing, it was up to the youngsters to try and ease the strains. Reddish played exceptionally well for a majority of the first half, with confident runs down the left side by Jenny Plant and a number of strong tackles on the right of midfield from Natalie helping Reddish attack the Bolton defence. The match was evenly spread between the two teams with both having ample opportunities to open the scoring. Reddish were throwing themselves (literally) at the ball to stop Bolton from scoring with Dunners coming worse off gaining a cracking bruise to the inside of her leg (which the umpire said ‘wasn’t lifted’?!).

It was through a Reddish attack that the deadlock was broken. After earning a long corner, the ball was intercepted on the hit back into play and a slick move up to the Reddish D in less than four passes saw Bolton edge the ball past Sarah, the Reddish keeper and go into half time one-nil up.

The task going into the second half was realistic for Reddish, score two goals and concede none. The performance of the first half gave the team confidence that this task was achievable and the young set of legs would mean tiredness would not set in too quickly…hopefully! Reddish continued to press forward to get the equaliser and the play was convincing down the left as Laura W put in strong tackles to disrupt the Bolton attack. But it was Bolton who was more assertive in their attacks and passed their way into the Reddish circle and doubled their lead. A snap shot at the back post despite the diving Reddish keeper took the score to two-nil.

This opened the flood gates for Bolton as the tiredness which Reddish didn’t need set in as the Bolton attack went on a rampage scoring three further goals, which were all rebounds after many of the first shots were stopped by Sarah. With the score now at five goals to nil and two more significant injuries, Helen Elcock’s shoulder and Dunners again (a ball struck to the same leg but on the other side!), Reddish consigned themselves to defeat, with the final score 5-0.

Bolton was a very well organised team and played with efficiency. However if Reddish were not so tired and depleted of energy, the score may not have been so superior. Also Sarah the Reddish keeper prevented the score from being a lot higher, earning her the man of the match award. This moved Reddish further into the relegation battle with all to play for in the final three games.

Rachel Dunley