SWFL 1st Division.
Falkirk Ladies V Cowdenbeath Ladies.
Sunday 17th February 2008 @ 14:00pm.
“Below Par Performance for the Bairns”
The bread and butter of SWF league action was at the forefront of the ladies mind today as the ‘Blue Brazil’ of Cowdenbeath Ladies traveled to the Pace. This was the 1st league match for the ladies since 18th November and they were keen to close the gap on today’s visitors.
Ever present centre half, Becky Robertson was ruled out of the starting 11 due to a thigh strain and the recovering Ruadh Houston could only find a place on the bench too. The match kicked off with the ladies kicking into a light breeze and also on a pitch that looked more like a cows field due to a junior match being played 24 hours earlier.
The opening exchanges saw very little in the way of chances as both sides struggled to cope with the difficult underfoot conditions. The first decent attempt on goal, 7min, came from Cowdenbeath as their striker hit a snap shot from outside the box, however it drifted wide.
The ladies forced their 1st corner on 12min however the visitors coped with ease. An excellent opportunity for the ladies to break the deadlock arrived after 20min as Alana Marshall found herself through on the keeper, however she shot straight at the stopper and the chance was gone.
Ashley McDonald has been a thorn in the side of many a full back this season so far and today was no different as her surging run on 24min set up an opportunity for Shirley Martin on the edge of the box but she shot just over the bar. A controversial moment on 30min saw the referee point at the spot for Cowdenbeath. As the striker tried to squeeze between Arlene Livingston and Clare Harris, all 3 players fell to the ground and much to Coach Wilson’s despair, the penalty was given. Keeper Melville had no chance with the spot-kick (0-1).
It was going to be a test for the ladies to see how they would respond to this early set-back and it was only a 4 minute wait for the fight back to begin. Kerry Graham took control of the ball in the midfield area, 35min, and played a delightful ball over the top of the defense for Alana Marshall to run on to and this time she shot past the advancing keeper to level the scores (1-1).
The ladies forced another corner on 42min after some neat play from Nicole Letford down the right flank however this was to come to nothing and the chance was gone.
Half Time:- Falkirk Ladies (1) V (1) Cowdenbeath Ladies.
During the half-time break, Coach Wilson demanded more energy and attacking from his players as he felt that apart for the penalty decision, Cowdenbeath hadn’t really offered much in an attacking sense and that the game was there for the taking.
The tempo at the start of the 2nd half was just what the doctor ordered as the ladies pressed from the opening seconds and quickly forced a corner, 46min, down the left side. Emma Lyons played the ball across the 6-yard box but there were no takers in red shirts.
Leading scorer for the Falkirk Ladies, Kerry Graham, picked the ball up inside the Cowdenbeath penalty area on 60min but her snap shot fell wide of the post and away to safety.
Sub: - 62 min, Nicole Letford (off) & Natalie Stewart (on).
As the game struggled to find any rhythm a minor flash point, 70min, resulted in a double sending off. Falkirk skipper Clare Harris clashed with a Cowdenbeath striker on the left-side of the penalty area in a 50/50 ball and both players appeared to show their displeasure at the attention from either party and although a yellow card would have be strong enough, both were sent for an early bath.
Both sides reshuffled their packs with the Falkirk ladies switching to a 3-man defense in the absence of the carded Harris. On 72min Keeper Melville came to the rescue of the home side as a misplaced pass from Ashley McDonald set a Cowdenbeth striker through on goal and Fiona Melville pulled off a cracking save to deflect the ball away from goal and full-back Kate Sheppard completed the clearance.
With both sides challenging at the top of the SWFL 1st division a draw looked a fair result and it was no real surprise that the match dwindled out to a one all draw and a point a piece.
Full Time:- Falkirk Ladies (1) V (1) Cowdenbeath Ladies.
Coach Wilson commented: - A draw, on reflection, is a fair result today considering the fact that the performance from the players was disappointing. Collectively we didn’t get it right today. There was a spark missing today from the players and hopefully this would have been a temporary glitch. The ladies have the chance to get back to winning ways next week against Bishopbriggs Ladies (away).
Skipper Clare Harris will serve an automatic ban next week until the league disciplinary committee meet and decide if a 2nd game is warranted.
