Woking FC Women v Kidlington Youth Ladies
SRWFL League Cup First Round
After several opportunities to catch up with both sides went begging due to travel issues, a League Cup fixture between the two clubs worked out perfectly. It was a dull day with drizzle in the air but this would be one of my easier trips on paper, two trains and a 25 minute walk, that was until I decided to follow Google Maps which takes you on a more scenic route through woods, around a cricket field and into a school that is fenced off from the college!
Still, I made it by just after 1pm and was pleasantly surprised to see sports photographer James Prickett and match reporter Patrick Higgins were covering the game. These two gentlemen have been covering women’s football for 20+ years, have second to none knowledge of the women’s game and feature regularly on the Women’s Soccer Scene website. It’s always wonderful to catch up with them and today I had the good fortune to talk at length with both. If you’re on Twitter/X they are well worth a follow, James can be found on @prickettpics and Pat is under @pat51.
So onto the game itself which was a South v North Division One clash. The visitors being in the better league form with four wins but were hampered by the absence of their two top strikers Grace Craven and Courtney Sumner for this game. Woking for their part were much changed from the last time we crossed paths and only have one league win to their name this season.
Before the match we had a minute’s silence for the fallen on Remembrance Sunday along with The Last Post.
The game started with Woking on the front foot early on. A shape of things to come with Gaby Hobday chasing down a ball down the wing before cutting inside driving to the edge of the box, shooting wide of the far post.
On 20 minutes Trudy Bryan-Kerr found Hobday again down the right and she drifted past the defender to the edge of the box, made herself some space and this time fired into the bottom corner. 1-0
Minutes later a through ball from Sophie Penhaligon found Beth Anders in space; she controlled and hit a low shot which keeper Emily Murphy did really well to block. The ball spun off her and looked destined for the net until Olivia Ward slid in and cleared superbly off the Kidlington goal line.
On the half hour Penhaligon again played a lovely pass into the path of Hobday, she just reached the ball before the onrushing Murphy and poked it past her into the net. Both players required lengthy treatment afterwards following a heavy collision. 2-0
Kidlington came close to halving the deficit when Emily Keal picked up a loose ball, ran to the edge of the area and hit a shot across Amy Jenkins in the Woking goal. Jenkins got down quickly and managed to tip the ball away for a corner.
Beth Anders picked up a loose defensive pass but fired wide of the visitors’ goal while at the other end, a long clearance was headed on by Erin Ball to Kiera Isaac who did well to flick the ball away from the defender but fired straight into the arms of Jenkins.
In the last action of the half Anders picked up the ball wide on the right and sent a dangerous ball across the six yard box where Hobday tried a flick which sent the ball goalwards but Murphy was there to save.
H-T: Woking 2 Kidlington Youth 0
The second half started in the same vein, Woking probing to try to increase their lead with Kidlington trying to hit them on the break. Second half substitute Jasmina Vanvooren picked up a loose pass from the defence and hit a high shot which Murphy managed to parry into the air. The ball again looked like it was going to squeeze into the top corner only for Murphy to claw the ball out from under the crossbar and Beth Dunbabin was on hand to clear.
Emily Keal then had a half chance from distance for Kidlington which went wide, while at the other end a good run from Roch down the right flank ended with a dangerous ball across the area with Vanvooren sliding in to get a touch at the far post, but somehow Kidlington managed to keep the ball out.
Kidlington forced two corners in quick succession in an effort to find a way back into the game but both were defended well. Woking came back with a nice first touch from Bryan-Kerr which gave her space for a shot that went narrowly wide.
On 70 minutes a long clearance from Jenkins was picked up by Vanvooren who ran on into the area, the keeper came out to narrow the angle only for the forward to slide the ball past her and into the bottom corner for a lovely finish. 3-0
The home side completed the scoring five minutes from the end when the impressive Bryony Gibbs found Anders in space. Her first time effort was saved well by Murphy with Anders picking up the rebound and slotting the ball into the net. 4-0
F-T: Woking 4 Kidlington 0
A deserved win for the hosts who played some nice football throughout, some of their one and two touch passing in the second half was a particular highlight. Bryony Gibbs, Gaby Hobday, Jas Vanvooren and Beth Anders all impressed for the home side.
Kidlington battled hard and never gave up but just couldn’t find a finish to claw their way back into the game. Zoe Taylor did well in midfield and loved the endless energy of Emily Keal running from end to end all game.
Good luck to Woking in the next round and all the best to both sides for the rest of the season. There is a very good chance I’ll see both in action in the second half of 24/25!
To see James Prickett’s photo gallery from this game click the button below.