Match Report
Match Report - 05 Sep 2010, Bracknell Town Ladies FC Bracknell Town Ladies beat Portsmouth University - PRELIMINARY
Sunday saw the Robins in League Cup action welcoming University of Portsmouth to Larges Lane. The visitors arrived with a reputation as being a strong team who had won the Division 1 title without defeat and liked to play a slick passing game. Spectators who made the effort to watch the game were not disappointed as the visitors arguably settled the quicker of the 2 teams.
Kirsty Robertson was called into action in the Robins goal on 3 or 4 occasions in the opening 15 minutes but was not seriously threatened. On the other hand, the Robins warmed to their task and during th emiddle part of the first half demonstrated some good moves of their own although frequently the ball was not held securely enough in the attacking third to take advantage of the pressure exerted. Libby Shuttle saw a couple of efforts from distance miss the target as did Emma Constable. Arguably the best chance arrived when the Robins were awarded a free kick to the left of the Portsmouth penalty area. A well worked free kick set up Emma Constable whose shot flew narrowly wide of the near post.
Portsmouth continued to try and play and enjoyed some more territorial success as they passed and moved the ball well. On the stroke of half time, a through ball found the Portsmouth number 7 who went down in the penalty area under challenge from Caz Gardner, albeit, a little too easily. The referee surprisingly awarded an indirect free kick when it should have been a penalty if a foul had been committed. Portsmouth capitalised when the free kick was struck with pace directly on goal. The ball rebounded off a Robins defender and fell kindly to a Portsmouth player who struck the ball home.
What had been a pretty evenly contested game had now swung in favour of the visitors but the Robins team that emerged from the dressing room at half time had other ideas. From the off, the Robins chased down every loose ball and denied their opponents space forcing errors. Beckky Powell demonstrated her determination by frequently winning back possession and getting the Robins back on the front foot. In fact it was Powell who came closest in the opening moments of the second half to equalising when she struck from the edge of the box following a corner and saw her shot hit the bar and fly to safety.
This was all the incentive that the Robins needed. Good passing and movement resulted in a more open game particularly in the Portsmouth half. Emma Constable began to influence proceedings more and more with her astute passing and direct running at defenders. On 61 minutes, Constable fashioned a chance for herself and struck the ball firmly on target. the Pompey keeper could only parry the ball which found Caz Paterson on hand to pick up the loose ball and finish well to open her account for the season.
It wasn't long before Constable re-emphasised her presence when she rose at the far post to head firmly past the keeper from another Libby Shuttle corner.
Portsmouth tried to regain a foothold on the game but found the Robins in no mood to let up the pressure and pace of the game. On the rare occasion that they got into the Robins defensive third they found the back four standing resolute. Jen Friar was a strong contender for player of the match with her overall performance but Caz Gardner stole her thunder in determined style. She won the ball around the half way line and took on and beat some 3 players before unleashing a shot of some ferocity past the hapless Portsmouth keeper from all of 25 yards.
Katy Myles was introduced to the fray in the 75th minute and immediately made her presence felt with her pace and aggression. She followed in a Libby Shuttle strike and forced an error from a defender who put the ball past her keeper for 4-1.
Myles wasn't finished however, and got a goal for her hard work when she followed up an excellent Jo Atkins shot that rebounded back off the cross bar and headed past the visiting keeper.
Whatever happened in the dressing room at half time worked very effectively with the Robins putting on arguably their best 45 minutes of the season so far. Next week sees the visit of Reading Town in a league fixture kicking off at 2 p.m.
Bracknell Town Ladies FC Bracknell Town Ladies 5 - 1 Portsmouth University - PRELIMINARY