Unbeaten start intact as ladies draw

THERE were no goals in the game between Stratford Ladies and Loughborough Town Ladies 2nds but the teams still served up a treat of a game.

Both sides came into the match having won their first five games so it was always going to be a high intensity affair and early substitutions did not disrupt the flow.

Stratford quickly settled into their usual pattern of patient play waiting for the gaps to appear. Sarah Davies, Emma Hyatt and Hayley Phillip provided a solid defence against a team which had scored more than 20 goals already this season while Grace Hopkins made a strong contribution in the middle of the pitch.

Clear-cut chances were few, for either side, but just before half-time Poppy Blackwall played an excellent ball through that Milly Vitty was unable to latch on to. Shortly afterwards a well-worked short corner routine went just wide, a Freya Barnett shot was kept out by a smart save while at the other end of the pitch Emily Capaldi, playing in a deeper role, picked off the Loughborough attacks.

Despite the efforts of Evie Clegg, Blackwall and Vitty up front in forcing opposition errors and winning the ball back, the opportunity to take the lead continued to elude the home side. In the end the draw was perhaps a fair result with both teams maintaining their unbeaten record.

Stratford Ladies 3rds 6, Warwick Ladies 4ths 1

Stratford Ladies 3rds were looking to make it three wins on the bounce as they faced Warwick and they opened the scoring inside the opening two minutes when Becky Slatter converted from a short corner smartly injected by Poppy Spicer.

Another short corner quickly followed which, in a carbon copy of the first routine, allowed Slatter to score her second.

Kyra Gulamhuseinwala swept a third into the bottom left-hand corner before player of the match Slatter converted another penalty corner for her hat-trick.

Close to half-time, Warwick had a period of sustained pressure managing to bundle the ball over the line to score their first but Stratford's response was swift with Grace Rusbrooke, Salima Gulamhuseinwala and Sophie Arber combining well to allow Slatter to convert once more over the outstretched goalie.

Warwick came out strongly in the second half but Naomi Newstead, making her debut in goal for Stratford, made some crucial saves. The final moment went to captain Arber who managed to lift the ball on the rebound from a short corner into the back of the net to make the final score 6-1 against their local rivals.

Harborne Men’s 5ths 6, Stratford Men’s 4ths 2

Stratford Men’s 4ths faced as tough an assignment as possible with an away game against the league leaders and allocated a 4.30pm start under the floodlights. However a bright start in the first 10 minutes gave grounds for optimism with some early pressure.

Some good passing involving Tim Drake, Will Mariott and Jules Van Vegchel forced the Harborne keeper to make a good save but Drake followed up his run down the left to put the resulting loose ball away for an early lead.

Unfortunately Stratford’s performance did not live up to the same standard as the hosts and the defence was not only overwhelmed by the pace of the Harborne strikers but, at times, also out-numbered and they scored four goals before the break.

Injuries and illness had forced Stratford to reorganise both the defensive line and central midfield and the hosts gave them no time to settle into the game.

Whilst the young Stratford forwards displayed their usual energy and commitment, the passing lacked the quality of previous weeks under pressure from higher quality opposition.

A half-time re-set saw a notable step-up in performance with the focus on a shorter, passing game and this brought early dividends with the opening goal of the half from Van Vegchel to make it 4-2.

However, despite a noticeable improvement from Stratford throughout the half, Harborne managed two further goals to secure a comfortable win and maintain their perfect 100 per cent league record.

Captain David Price said: “This result might be viewed as a useful reality check after recent successes and it demonstrates the need to maintain the standards we have set ourselves.

“Although Harborne deserved the win, their league position shows we need fear no team in this league. However it shows the importance of producing our fast, high quality passing game for the whole duration of the match if we are to win these sorts of games.