Ladies 1s vs Oxford Ladies 2s DRAW 1-1

We were all looking forward to putting last week’s game behind us and making a fresh start with a new look team.  With a few injuries in the squad, we welcomed Dani Petticrew , Gigi and Jen Romano into the team who played brilliantly, proving the strength and depth of the ladies’ section.    Chiswick were fired up from the warm up and keen to make a positive start from the first whistle.

Having played Oxford in the past, Chiswick knew that the press had to be tight to ensure that there were no opportunities for Oxford to send a long ball to their high forward.  With Dawn Whitmore and Cookie Bowie organising the team from the back, this worked well and Chiswick won plenty of turnover balls from staying disciplined and keeping their structure.  Laura Jaques showed great skill and composure in centre midfield, distributing the ball left and right to increase our attacking options, however these efforts were often denied by a strong, Oxford defence.

With only 10 minutes played, Oxford created a goal scoring opportunity through some quick passing which saw their forward fire the ball past Chiswick Keeper Jenny Capp from a tight angle.  Learning their lessons from last week, Chiswick remained positive and did not let their heads drop.  Tisunge Barrack and Ceilidh Walker began to put more pressure on their defence and they started to force Oxford to make errors towards the end of the first half.

Trailing by a goal at half time was frustrating as it was clear that Chiswick deserved to take some points home. Half time advice and encouragement from Prashila Puna and Becky Altree on the sideline, inspired the team to remain positive and bring more width to their game.

The second half was an improvement on the first.  Chiswick were more composed on the ball and were patient when looking for the final pass into the D.  Man of the match, Gigi channelled well down the right hand side, timing her tackles to perfection and sending some dangerous balls into the D for the Chiswick forwards to fight for.

When Tisunge Barrack was fouled in the D, Chiswick were awarded their second short corner of the game which was converted by Alex Earnshaw who struck the ball from the left hand side, giving the Oxford keeper no chance in saving it.

 With the score now 1-1 both teams were desperate to take all 3 points.  However, the draw stood thanks to some key saves from Jenny Capp and a last ditch tackle from Cookie Bowie in the final seconds of the game.

Chiswick are now 4th on goal difference with only a couple of points separating the top 5 teams.  All to play for in South Div 3a!

MoM – Gigi –tracking back to make some excellent tackles and attacking down the right putting some dangerous balls into the D.
DoD – Cath – running into a goalpost and forgetting to put her skirt on until the last minute

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