Second half goals get Leek the 3 points

The game started and was pretty much end to end for the first half with the two teams looking pretty evenly matched.

A shot on goal was narrowly missed by Captain Lorna Housley-Tatton and was followed by two short corners for Leek, however, this did not result in getting the Leek side onto the score sheet. Play continued up and down the pitch with some great saves by Annie Shuttlewood who demonstrated her great goal keeping skills putting into practice the coaching she has received at training. Jo Shuttlewood’s intelligence and experience at Centre Back enabled great distribution of the ball. Carla Critchlow was fantastic as our energetic centre mid and her experience rubbed off on our younger players who were responsive and forward thinking in their positioning. Unfortunately, the first half ended in a goal from the opposition but this was enough to generate a productive half time team talk with every player being responsive.

Leek went into the second half with power and determination and totally dominated the play. Heidi Broad was outstanding on the right wing and the energy she expanded during the game was phenomenal. Listening to the coaching on the field and remaining driven until the end. The central mid-field players stepped up and Poppy Lawlor, Olivia Lawley and Nerea Ward-Banner, all worked hard using short passes to get the ball into the D. A goal still eluded Leek until Sarah Turner Bradbury managed to get on the end of a pass and scored her second goal in two weeks. Tanya Petcova used her speed to launch multiple attacks in the D and Julie Hunt made some fabulous interceptions to get the ball back into the attacking end. When Wolvs did have a free hit on the left-hand side Lucy Dale was exceptional and absolutely solid in her position at left back, stopping every ball. Sophie Walker played intelligently at right back and read the game superbly, protecting our goal. The Leek players never gave up with their attacking force and Olivia Lawley managed to score a further two goals for Leek, resulting in a 3-1 win to the Leek Ladies 4th team.

The tenacity that all the players showed right until the final whistle was commendable and thoroughly reflected in the result.