Wokingham & Emmbrook Ladies v Wroxton Sports Ladies
Here’s a blog/report from the closing weekend of 23/24 season which was not published at the time.
The Sumas went into this game looking to go out on a high in their final game of the 23/24 season and hoping to secure a third place finish on their return to women’s football. The visitors, sitting bottom of the developmental league, were hoping to get a result which would see them leapfrog Longfield Park Vixens so this game was never going to be just an end of season affair.
The visitors started on the front foot but Wokingham had the first real chance of the game when a nice through ball down the right wing was picked up by Lauren Evans, She tried an effort from the edge of the area which Sports keeper Ash Souter attempted to clear with her feet only for it to skew off the outside of her foot and bounce just outside of the right hand post.
The game settled into a rhythm with Wroxton forcing Wokingham onto the back foot whose defence was looking a little jittery in the early stages. The Sumas were using the quick break well utilising the pace of Evans, Rebecca Grieg and Sophie White with the latter coming close twice, first forcing Souter to come off the line quickly to clear and then to win the chase and lob the stranded keeper only to see it rebound off the crossbar.
Wroxham still forged forward with Alex Pitcher making a well-timed run onto a through ball but good defensive work from Megan Bartlett shepherded her away from goal and keeper Shai Humphries was able to clear.
On their next attack the visitors did make it count. Hesitation in the Sumas defence from a Grace Mander cross allowed Pitcher to sneak in and poke the ball home. 0-1
The hosts were soon back into the game with the pace of White again causing problems for the Wroxton defence. She picked up another pass through the visitors back line, ran into the right side of the area, nicked the ball away from the advancing Souter, controlled and pulled the ball across the six yard box to a waiting Phoebe Fenwick who calmly stroked the ball into the empty net. 1-1
Wokingham’s tails were up and they soon took the lead, this time from a defence splitting pass which White again managed to get to before Souter, knocking the ball into space on the left side of the area and rolling it into the net at the near post. 2-1
There was enough time left in the half for the Sumas to increase their lead when Evans broke down the right flank and flashed a cross into the box finding White who was waiting to apply the finish. 3-1
H-T: Wokingham & Emmbrook Ladies 3 Wroxton Sports Ladies 1
The second half was all about Lauren Evans. The Sumas number 10 was terrorising the visitors left back in the early stages, first a great run down the right, cut back inside and pass to Callie Welch whose first time shot just cleared the upright. Next Evans saw keeper off the line and swung in a cross/shot towards the near post which Souter only just managed to claw away. Evans took the resulting corner, sending it into the six yard box where it curled goalwards but rattled against the bar and away to safety.
The next attack again came down the right flank with Evans once more spotting Souter advance away from her line and this time picked out the gap at the near post despite a despairing dive from the keeper. 4-1
Wroxton never gave up and managed to pull a goal back with Grace Mander and Alex Pitcher combining well again on the edge of the area, the latter making the most of the opening by firing her shot into the bottom left hand corner of the net. 4-2
Towards the end of the game Wokingham put the icing on the cake when awarded a free kick right on the edge of the area, Souter being harshly adjudged to have picked up the ball outside the area and Callie Welch firing the set piece past the wall and into the bottom right hand corner. 5-2
The Sumas nearly made it six at the death with Rebecca Greig tried to get onto a lofted cross field pass but the ball just wouldn’t come down for her and she could only loop the ball wide of the goal.
F-T: Wokingham & Emmbrook Ladies 5 Wroxton Sports Ladies 2