Ladies leave it late before netting winning goal

AFTER securing a hard fought 0-0 draw against Loughborough Town the previous week, Stratford Ladies went one better and secured all three points with a 1-0 defeat of Towcester to cement their third place in the table with four games to go..

Adjusting to the new KES pitch took a short time with the team lacking the confidence to pass it round with their normal pace and precision.

Chances soon came the way of Poppy Blackwall, Milly Vitty and Georgie Poulten but they went untaken. While Juliette Kendall and the dependable Mira Proctor kept hold of the midfield, the team were perhaps guilty of not moving up and down the pitch together. Marianne Morrice remained untroubled in the Stratford goal, with the defence being well marshalled as ever by Hayley Phillips at the back.

Some tactical reminders from coach Stuart Guise resulted in a second half of increased urgency epitomised by Charlotte Goodall who closed down the opposition with impressive determination.

The returning Emily Capaldi provided some width and security at the back along with the impressive Issy Bradley Pandya and the high press from Kendall and Phillips meant that, for large swaths of the second half, Stratford were camped in Towcester’s half.

Phillips, Fielden and Capaldi helped build a solid platform for a sustained period of pressure and a penalty corner was followed by three successive shots, the last of which was pushed just wide from Vitty.

McKee continued to demonstrate some good skills and Bradley Pandya together with Blackwall continued with their trademark direct runs at the defence. A final penalty corner following a Capaldi attack down the right, saw Barnett strike it firmly past the keeper, much to the delight of the crowd.

The final two minutes finally saw keeper Morrice called into action, with two fine saves.

Redditch Mens 3rds 1 Stratford Mens 4ths 5

REDDITCH played host to the Mens 4ths on a warm spring afternoon but in contrast, the visitors’ cold start saw them concede an early goal as they took time to adjust to some changes in the starting line up.

Against a home team fighting a relegation battle, Stratford crucially livened up while keeping their heads cool as they began to get the passes moving to build pressure.

George Holloway in central midfield was instrumental in settling nerves and with Mark Reynolds and Ted Hargett alongside him in midfield, the trio created the platform from which an experienced strike force won several short corners and forced a number of good saves. James Cawthorn finally stepped up to convert one of the set pieces with a powerful strike to level the scores at half-time.

With Stratford in the ascendancy, the second half was when the pressure began to tel.

Mark Leary was on hand with a customary cool finish to convert a sustained spell of dominance and with Cawthorn crashing another short corner inside the right hand post, the visitors opened up a two-goal cushion.

From this point Redditch’s frustrations began to build but youngsters Ollie Montandon and Peter Walton in defence stood up with great determination with Walton making some brave tackles and well-timed interceptions and Montandon finding himself floored in a crunching encounter.

With a quarter to go, Stratford suffered the potentially critical loss of midfield playmaker Holloway with a fractured ankle. With cover of just one man on the bench the whole team had to dig deep, none more so than man of the match Hargett who, despite being one of the youngest on the team, stepped into Holloway’s role with confidence, first getting the better of his feisty opposite number and then ensuring that the flowing game that Stratford were playing not just continued but flourished.

Nick Russell made a number of influential plays and alongside the experience of Leary, Matt White and Reynolds going forward, the visitors continued to dominate. It was White who provided the highlight of the afternoon as he managed to unloose a reverse stick shot into the bottom left to convert his own mazy run past several defenders.

It was fitting that the final goal went to Jules Van Vegchel who capped another standout performance anchoring the defence with a short corner one-two with Reynolds.

Captain David Price continued his return from injury and complimented the youngsters in the side for standing up with conviction in what was an at times bruising encounter.

Stratford head into the final four games in a good position near the top of a tight league where any of four teams could take the title.