This Sunday, after a flying visit to the Midlands in the morning, I decided to keep it local and make the 8 mile journey over to Exeter Park, home of Kidlington Youth Ladies. This would be my fourth visit on the season, having already seen the Greens play in the FA Cup twice earlier in the season and, just a couple of weeks ago, watching my daughter play (and score) there, for Kidlington. The home side were coming into the game on the back of three consecutive wins in all competitions, but today was a different prospect, as the visitors were the current league leaders, Beaconsfield Town. The Rams were bringing their unbeaten record to Oxfordshire along with an incredibly mean defensive record, with just 8 goals conceded in 15 games.
Beaconsfield's new signing, Molly Carter, brought in from Wycombe, went straight into the starting line-up for this game.
It was good to meet up with Beaconsfield Marketing Manager, Craig Anderson, before kick-off. Although, we couldn't speak for too long, because he was called away to run the line. I have to say, he did a very good job, although next time he should maybe wear a head-cam. It would make an interesting video about the joys and perils of being a referee's assistant (just an idea, Craig).
Beaconsfield's new signing, Molly Carter, brought in from Wycombe, went straight into the starting line-up for this game.
It was good to meet up with Beaconsfield Marketing Manager, Craig Anderson, before kick-off. Although, we couldn't speak for too long, because he was called away to run the line. I have to say, he did a very good job, although next time he should maybe wear a head-cam. It would make an interesting video about the joys and perils of being a referee's assistant (just an idea, Craig).
Lucy Casey (blue) about to score for The Rams Beaconsfield, in their light blue change shirts, were kicking up the slight slope towards the Crown Road end in the first half. Kidlington, buoyed their recent good run of results, looked confident from the off and could have taken the lead in the 7th minute when Courtney Sumner was presented with a half-chance that she couldn't quite take. It was a good start from The Greens but Beaconsfield soon began to stroke the ball around with the style of a team sitting top of the league.
In the 13th minute the visitors took the lead when Lucy Casey ran onto a defence-splitting through ball before deftly lifting the ball over the approaching Emily Murphy. 0-1. That turned out to be the first in a match-long dual between the Rams striker and the Kidlington goalkeeper. Three minutes later came round two, when Casey was again put through, this time by a precision pass from Henna Hussain. However, Murphy won this dual, rushing off her line to make a good save. The ease with which Beaconsfield were finding gaps in the home defence must have been a big worry to the Kidlington coaches.
With only 18 minutes on the clock, the visitors doubled their advantage. Charlotte Hill sent a right-wing corner towards the near post where Lucy Casey, who had got away from her marker, had the simple task of bundling the ball over the line. 0-2. Great movement from Casey, but awful defending from Kidlington, who just didn't react to the movement.
Two minutes after the half-hour, Casey grabbed her hat-trick, but this goal was made by a combination of a delightful team passing move and an inch-perfect, outside of the foot, through ball from Katie Riddington. The ball, once again, split the home defence allowing Casey to run on and finish well past Murphy. 0-3. No blame for the defence this time though. I doubt any team in the league could have defended that goal. It was a joy to watch.
Murphy, who was in the thick of the action almost constantly, managed to injure her knee when coming out to collect a through ball. She somehow got the ball caught between her knees, performing a kind of flip whilst managing to hold on to the ball. It appears her knee planted in the ground, in the same way that some players get a knee slide wrong when scoring. It looked like a very sore one, but she was able to continue after a short break.
HT Kidlington Youth 0 Beaconsfield Town 3. After a quick start from the home side, Beaconsfield took control of the game. Their passing and movement was a constant threat to the home defence and they managed to restrict Kidlington to hopeful long balls up to Isaac and Sumner, all of which played into the hands of centre-half Gemma Whitchurch, who was commanding the Rams back-line.
In the 13th minute the visitors took the lead when Lucy Casey ran onto a defence-splitting through ball before deftly lifting the ball over the approaching Emily Murphy. 0-1. That turned out to be the first in a match-long dual between the Rams striker and the Kidlington goalkeeper. Three minutes later came round two, when Casey was again put through, this time by a precision pass from Henna Hussain. However, Murphy won this dual, rushing off her line to make a good save. The ease with which Beaconsfield were finding gaps in the home defence must have been a big worry to the Kidlington coaches.
With only 18 minutes on the clock, the visitors doubled their advantage. Charlotte Hill sent a right-wing corner towards the near post where Lucy Casey, who had got away from her marker, had the simple task of bundling the ball over the line. 0-2. Great movement from Casey, but awful defending from Kidlington, who just didn't react to the movement.
Two minutes after the half-hour, Casey grabbed her hat-trick, but this goal was made by a combination of a delightful team passing move and an inch-perfect, outside of the foot, through ball from Katie Riddington. The ball, once again, split the home defence allowing Casey to run on and finish well past Murphy. 0-3. No blame for the defence this time though. I doubt any team in the league could have defended that goal. It was a joy to watch.
Murphy, who was in the thick of the action almost constantly, managed to injure her knee when coming out to collect a through ball. She somehow got the ball caught between her knees, performing a kind of flip whilst managing to hold on to the ball. It appears her knee planted in the ground, in the same way that some players get a knee slide wrong when scoring. It looked like a very sore one, but she was able to continue after a short break.
HT Kidlington Youth 0 Beaconsfield Town 3. After a quick start from the home side, Beaconsfield took control of the game. Their passing and movement was a constant threat to the home defence and they managed to restrict Kidlington to hopeful long balls up to Isaac and Sumner, all of which played into the hands of centre-half Gemma Whitchurch, who was commanding the Rams back-line.
Emily Murphy in the thick of the action again Kidlington began the second half with a renewed vigour. Issy Thacker made sure that Lisa Phillips had stayed alert with a testing effort after 48 minutes. The Rams stopper turned the ball away for a corner, which came to nothing.
Ten minutes into the second period, the Lucy Casey versus Emily Murphy show resumed and, despite the striker already having a hat-trick, Murphy denied her this time with a very good reflex save to her right. However, the goalkeeper stayed down after the save, clearly in some discomfort following the first-half injury. There was a prolonged break whilst she was patched up and able to continue with heavy strapping around her knee.
If Beaconsfield thought that the injury may make the keeper more vulnerable, they needed to think again. Just after the hour, Murphy once again denied Casey, who could easily have had six goals to her name by this time. Four minutes later, it was Henna Hussain's turn to be disappointed, as Murphy stretched to flick her goal-bound effort over the bar. The keeper particularly loved that save, punching the air and letting out a roar of encouragement to her team-mates.
Beaconsfield had definitely gone off the boil a little in the second half, but also credit to Kidlington, who had dug in and looked determined to give it everything they had. Sara Pinna came close to pulling a goal back with sixteen minutes remaining. Her low drive had Phillips scrambling across her goal and looking relieved when the ball flashed just wide of her right-hand post.
Beaconsfield had shuffled their pack in an effort to perk up their display, with Henna Hussain moving into a more central midfield position. It was her threaded pass on 75 minutes, that almost got Casey n again, but the pass was a matter of an inch too heavy, allowing Murphy to race off her line and clear the danger.
With seven minutes remaining there was a fairly controversial incident. Casey was played in once again but before she could advance on goal, she was taken out by Abigail Owen. No doubt it was cynical and a foul. She was also the last defender and Casey was only just outside the box. The Beaconsfield bench wanted a red and, to be fair, I think everyone expected it, even the Kidlington bench thought it was a denial of a goalscoring opportunity. However, no card was produced and the free-click came to nothing. A lucky escape for the Kidlington defender.
Five minutes into the time added on for Murphy's earlier injury, Katie Riddington almost treated us to a scorcher when she smashed a 25-yard effort over Murphy only to see it come back off the bar.
FT Kidlington Youth 0 Beaconsfield Town 3. Another three points for Beaconsfield in their quest for the title. A fully deserved win overall, but they took their foot off the pedal in the second half much to the displeasure of their coaching staff. Kidlington worked hard but, in all fairness, didn't threaten too much. To their credit, their places were still smiling at the end of the game.
Next weekend Kidlington are in Chairman's Cup action as they face up to another league leader in Division One South side AFC Stoneham. Beaconsfield make the short journey over the M40 to take on Penn & Tylers Green in 'the big one'. Whilst the result, whichever way it goes, will not mathematically decide the title, if Beaconsfield win it would put them in a practically unassailable position. If Penn win, then things could really start to become interesting. Penn would then be able to draw level if they won their remaining games in hand, and Ascot would not be completely ruled out.
Kidlington: Murphy, Ward, Reagan, Dunbavin(c), Woodward, Thacker, Pinna, Clements, Isaac, Sumner, Keal. Subs: Owen, Taylor, Craven
Beaconsfield Town: Phillips(c), Smith, Kingston-Wheeler, Davern, Whitchurch, Hill, Hussain, Carter, Riddington, Casey, Vettese. Subs: Newberry, Lance, Armstrong
Ground Number: Re-visit
Att:
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A
Ten minutes into the second period, the Lucy Casey versus Emily Murphy show resumed and, despite the striker already having a hat-trick, Murphy denied her this time with a very good reflex save to her right. However, the goalkeeper stayed down after the save, clearly in some discomfort following the first-half injury. There was a prolonged break whilst she was patched up and able to continue with heavy strapping around her knee.
If Beaconsfield thought that the injury may make the keeper more vulnerable, they needed to think again. Just after the hour, Murphy once again denied Casey, who could easily have had six goals to her name by this time. Four minutes later, it was Henna Hussain's turn to be disappointed, as Murphy stretched to flick her goal-bound effort over the bar. The keeper particularly loved that save, punching the air and letting out a roar of encouragement to her team-mates.
Beaconsfield had definitely gone off the boil a little in the second half, but also credit to Kidlington, who had dug in and looked determined to give it everything they had. Sara Pinna came close to pulling a goal back with sixteen minutes remaining. Her low drive had Phillips scrambling across her goal and looking relieved when the ball flashed just wide of her right-hand post.
Beaconsfield had shuffled their pack in an effort to perk up their display, with Henna Hussain moving into a more central midfield position. It was her threaded pass on 75 minutes, that almost got Casey n again, but the pass was a matter of an inch too heavy, allowing Murphy to race off her line and clear the danger.
With seven minutes remaining there was a fairly controversial incident. Casey was played in once again but before she could advance on goal, she was taken out by Abigail Owen. No doubt it was cynical and a foul. She was also the last defender and Casey was only just outside the box. The Beaconsfield bench wanted a red and, to be fair, I think everyone expected it, even the Kidlington bench thought it was a denial of a goalscoring opportunity. However, no card was produced and the free-click came to nothing. A lucky escape for the Kidlington defender.
Five minutes into the time added on for Murphy's earlier injury, Katie Riddington almost treated us to a scorcher when she smashed a 25-yard effort over Murphy only to see it come back off the bar.
FT Kidlington Youth 0 Beaconsfield Town 3. Another three points for Beaconsfield in their quest for the title. A fully deserved win overall, but they took their foot off the pedal in the second half much to the displeasure of their coaching staff. Kidlington worked hard but, in all fairness, didn't threaten too much. To their credit, their places were still smiling at the end of the game.
Next weekend Kidlington are in Chairman's Cup action as they face up to another league leader in Division One South side AFC Stoneham. Beaconsfield make the short journey over the M40 to take on Penn & Tylers Green in 'the big one'. Whilst the result, whichever way it goes, will not mathematically decide the title, if Beaconsfield win it would put them in a practically unassailable position. If Penn win, then things could really start to become interesting. Penn would then be able to draw level if they won their remaining games in hand, and Ascot would not be completely ruled out.
Kidlington: Murphy, Ward, Reagan, Dunbavin(c), Woodward, Thacker, Pinna, Clements, Isaac, Sumner, Keal. Subs: Owen, Taylor, Craven
Beaconsfield Town: Phillips(c), Smith, Kingston-Wheeler, Davern, Whitchurch, Hill, Hussain, Carter, Riddington, Casey, Vettese. Subs: Newberry, Lance, Armstrong
Ground Number: Re-visit
Att:
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A
Kidlington looking for a goal
RSS Feed