Match Report
Match Report - 07 Sep 2008, Bracknell Town Ladies FC Bracknell Town Ladies beat Reading Ladies FC
This friendly saw the strength in depth of the Robins as they had 20 players on show despite some unavailabilities. The first half started brightly with Michelle Turner finding the net on 3 minutes only to see it ruled out for offside. However, 3 minutes later, Emma Constable opened the scoring with a speculative shot which the Reading keeper failed to deal with. The new formation took a while to settle down but there was evidence of good understanding developing with goal scoring opportunities being created following good build up play. The best of these fell to Libby Suchley whose shot curled and dipped only to hit the bar. Other chances were spurned by Whittaker, Turner and Barton.
The Robins extended their lead on 30 minutes when the irrepressible Turner met a Suchley corner with a firm, well directed header. The passing and movement was pleasing to see and despite the missed chances, must have left the management staff of Ward and Hughes feeling quite pleased.
The second half saw no less than 9 changes from the starting line up. The half started out more evenly balanced as the Reading players began to grow in confidence, their passing improving sufficiently to see Holloway in the Bracknell goal called into action on more than a few occasions. Eventually the Robins, who in fairness, had not played together in this combination before, settled down and started to create scoring chances of their own once they got the measure of their new team-mates.
We had to wait until the 82nd minute to see the goal of the game which came from a direct free kick awarded for yet another foul on Danni Wheeden. Sue Bowen took responsibility and struck an unstoppable shot into the far top corner of the net which was met with a loud cheer from her team-mates. The final goal saw Wheeden put through by young Jen Friar making her first appearance in the red of Bracknell. Wheeden finished her 1 v 1 chance with style to round off a sound performance. The Reading players had worked hard and made themselves awkward opponents to break down. Hopefully they can build on this performance and will enjoy success as they face life in division 1 with their opening league fixture next Sunday. Meanwhile, the Robins will turn their attention to the visit of Wycombe Wanderers Ladies at Larges Lane next week.
Reading Ladies FC 0 - 4 Bracknell Town Ladies FC Bracknell Town Ladies