Post by Dave on Dec 5, 2010 17:57:04 GMT
Bay Ladies V Brixham Villa 5th Dec 2010
I was hoping that Ants team the Plainmoor Ladies had a game today as I have not watched a ladies match before. They play in the Premier division and are doing well by all accounts.
So instead I had planned to go and watch our under 13’s team play Bristol Rovers on the 3g pitch over here in Paignton, the only problem would have been I might not have been allowed to take any pictures.
Ant was going out the door and I asked him if he was going to watch a match anywhere and he told me he was running the line for a first division ladies match taking place at Clennon Valley. That will do for me I thought and so I had a quick bite to eat and made my way down to Clennon Valley.
The first thing I want to say was that if it were not for people giving up their time for free, there would be no local football happening. I say that as I was surprised to see the Marldon team manager all kitted out in his refs gear to take charge of this match. The Villa team manager Barry Heyward is another person who not only played local football but is a well known ref and has worked for the SDL in the past and gives so much of his spare time to local football.
The pitch was near waterlogged in some parts due to the weekend rain that has fallen on Torbay, it was worse near one corner flag but the pitch was still perfectly playable. I had put on a clean pair of tracksuit bottoms and they sure got covered in mud just walking across the grass at Clennnon.
The Bay ladies are sitting at the top of division one and have not been beaten this season and after today’s display, it’s clear to see why. My lady of the match was their right winger number 10. She is skilful on the ball, can go past players with ease and not only is a good passer of the ball; she knows where the goal is as well.
The matched kicked off and the Villa ladies struggled to get out of their own half, such was the dominance of the Bay ladies, in fact I don’t think the Villa ladies even crossed the halfway line for a good 15 minutes or so into the match.
It was no surprise to see the Bay Ladies get the first goal of the match, a fine individual effort by their number 10. She picked the ball up some 40 yards from the Villa goal and got her head down going past two Villa defenders before firing in a crisp shot past the Keeper.
The villas keepers kicking was very poor during the whole match and she failed to get any distance on her kicks, one very poor kick out was to cost her side another goal being scored against them. She came to the edge of her box and the kick hardly went any distance and went straight to Bays number 4, who just hit the ball first time past the keeper who was obviously way off her goal line.
Villa then went and got a goal back, the ball broke very fortuitously to their number 11 just outside the box and she ran with the ball into the box and hit a good low shot past the Bays keeper.
That was about all the action for the first half and I felt Villa were very lucky to be starting the second half still in the game and in with a chance of a surprise upset. Villa started the second half much better and were on top for the fist 15 minutes, but failed to get any meaningful shots on goal.
The Bay girls then took back control of the game and that saw the Villa defence having to work overtime. Most of Bay Ladies attacks were coming down the right hand side, only some poor decision making saw shots being fired at goal from all angles, when the ball really should have been played into the Villa box where there were often two players free.
Bay Ladies added a third goal after a shot was fired in, the Villa keeper got down to save it , only she did not hold onto the ball and it looked to me to have creped over the goal line. The Bay players certainly thought so as well and were appealing for the goal. It was almost in slow motion the following action as the ball seemed to be sitting over the line for ages until a Villa player got a boot to it and kicked it out. The ball only reached the edge of the area where Bays number 7(their captain) was standing and she just thumped it goal ward and into the net.
It was all the Bay Ladies now and it was clear that many of girls were feeling the effects of the very heavy pitch. Bay Ladies made the game safe with a fine goal from their star player number 10. She received the ball out wide on the right and from the edge of the box hit a high shot that looked like it was going over, but it flew in the top left-hand corner of the goal.
So a very entertaining game and those ladies sure are not afraid of getting stuck in and do try and play good football.
