Westbury Vs Haslingden Sharks 09-10-16

The hard yards start here………..

Another spectacular Indian Summers Sunday morning; blue sky, sun shining, facility to themselves, plenty of room in the car park and the café open! What more could we ask for……….. a second win on the bounce maybe?

After getting the Sharks first win on the board last week against todays opponent, combined with no fixture planned for either team this weekend paved the way to some resourceful thinking from Coach Felinski and Westbury; with the return fixture currently scheduled for mid-February plans where hastily actioned to avoid the frozen pitches the English winter brings, together with the risk of postponement – hence let’s get the girls out while the going’s good.

As a result of being a few players down from the previous week Coach Felinski had little option than to re-shuffle the starting line up slightly. Between the sticks, Mackenzie; Hadley(E) & Purdy making up the defense; Hadley(G) slightly in front protecting the back two – flanked either side by Dunn & Kay in midfield. Up front leading the line – Blackburn (keen to add to her current tally of 2 in 2). Only one sub on the bench today; Horsfield – eager for a run out to show us what she can do! Captaining the team for the very first time, Eve Hadley.

Straight from the off the Sharks were given warning this wasn’t going to be the formality of disposing of Westbury as they did last week. The opponents lined up with two players not previously present and No 5, Elle Mottershead, quickly got into her stride. Play developed in the middle of the park for Westbury and a telling precision ball from Mottershead to the right flank got their forwards in on goal. With only the keeper to beat a low driven shot headed goal bound……… not this time though! A great reaction save from Mackenzie kept the scores on a level footing and the danger was cleared. Geoff mentioned Westbury’s No6 in last weeks match report as a shining light – it was clearly no fluke performance; Grace Robinson looking composed and confident in possession led a string of attacks on the Black & White’s goal. However, despite the early onslaught Hadley(E) and Purdy held fast for the initial passage of play.

Having played the last game on Astroturf Hassy were struggling to deal with the slower surface that is grass; it came as no surprise (judging by the balance of play) then that the deadlock was finally broken. Another attack on 8mins resulted in Westfield taking a deserved lead; No 6 Robinson slotting a calculated effort past the diving Mackenzie for 1-0. From the re-start Westbury quickly regained possession resulting in a blistering shot on 10mins that rattled the Hassy crossbar but thankfully rebounded to safety. Coach Felinski made his first sub on 11mins – bringing on Horsfield and giving Kay some well-earned rest bite. It was still ‘all hands on deck’ in the Sharks defense though with a constant stream of interceptions, tackles and clearances needed to prevent a second goal going in. But the team held fast and on 14mins a break through the center from Hadley(G) resulted in a deflected shot gifting Haslingden their first corner of the game. An over sailing ball into the box from Hadley(G) was narrowly missed by Blackburn and turned out for a successive corner by Westbury. Two more corners quickly followed but Westbury were able to eventually clear their lines and keep their narrow lead in tact.

The Black & Whites were now gaining in confidence with Dunn, Kay & Horsfield beginning to gain possession in midfield and Blackburn up front looking menacing on the left hand side with one attack ending with a shot on goal narrowly skirting past the Westbury left hand post. The game was now pretty much end to end with Hassy giving as good as they got! On 20mins a fiercely driven net buster was unleashed from the laces of Hadley(G) but the Westbury keeper made a fine save and was able to parry the ball to the side of the oncoming Blackburn. Down the other end it was Purdy keeping her team in the game; with Westbury just about to stroke the ball into a gapping net a lunging tackle kept them at bay. The play now was finely balanced but it was Westbury who added to their tally just before half time; again it was Robinson breaking down the left, cutting inside to fire a low shot into the net giving Mackenize little chance; 2-0. Hassy immediately responded well, able to retain possession in midfield from the restart culminating in a treaded pass from Kay to Blackburn who narrowly fired wide.

Half Time: 2-0

Quick change of personnel between the sticks at half time – Mackenzie swaps shirts (and positions) with Purdy. Dunn on the bench for the re-start which pretty much continued where the first half left off. End to end stuff with Hassy girls in every position earning their crust. Strong tackles at the back from Mackenzie, Hadley(E) & Hadley (G); great possession in midfield from Dunn, Kay & Horsfield and threatening runs from Blackburn all led to a good period of play from the Sharks. Having said all that it was Purdy in goal that kept the deficit from increasing, bravely getting in the way of a thunderbolt from Mottershead that allowed Hadley(E) time to get back and clear the Hassy lines once again. On 35mins a loose ball in the midfield was keenly contested by Blackburn who unfortunately came off a little worst for wear and had to be substituted to give her ankle a little ice treatment. Virtually straight away – Hadley(E) bravely stepped into the line of another rocket shot from Mottershead, stunning her in the face – the Sharks all of a sudden down to 6 and in danger of being overrun. Within minutes the Westbury team recognised the situation and to their great credit withdrew one of their players to keep the numbers equal – tip top sportsmanship from them!

A second ice pack later and Hadley(E) returns to the field and on 40mins we’re back to 7 v 7. Overall play was still evenly balanced but the lack of substitutes Coach Felinski had to call on was suddenly starting to show. The girls in the middle of the park had given there all for prolonged periods of play and tiredness was becoming evident. It was Westbury then who were creating the better chances and deservedly increased their lead on 42mins to 3-0. Credit to the Sharks; the heads stayed up, the sleeves where rolled up and they set about getting that elusive goal their play deserved. Dunn, instructed to press a high line, was becoming a real threat up front. Great play from her in the last third pre-quelled a ranging ball to the right wing to accompany Hadley(G)’s attacking stride. Three skipped tackles later she returned the favour, delivering a menacing cross into the box that just evaded the toe of the advancing Kay by millimeters – great play from a shattered midfield at this late stage of the game (especially Kay who ran the length of the field to support the attack)!

The girls were a credit to the club – up against a significantly bigger and more physical team this week but they dug in and kept themselves in the contest throughout. After a good morale boosting win last week it’s still clear there’s a lot of hard yards ahead for the Sharks. Roll on those freezing Wednesday nights at Fearns…………