Doncaster Belles 1-0 Leafield Athletic
12/2/23 – 2pm – Thorne Colliery FC
Midlands division One
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After picking up wins against Sheffield FC and Wem Town it was time for another away day, time to crank up the coach. Ding Ding all aboard the fun bus to Doncaster. I’m not going to mention that we went to wrong point to pick up Laura, Chloe and Alex but a great start to the journey. So after a stop on the way and a good journey up in the rocket ship we arrived and it was time to go up against 2nd in the table and test the progress again. Before I move into the game itself I have to give massive shout out to the media guy at Doncaster who was such a top guy and very welcoming and helpful and also great to meet Joseph from Switch Radio at the game too.
The game got underway with both teams looking to open the scoring. The opening 10 minutes against strong opponents Leafield would look to cement themselves into the game and make it hard for Doncaster of course the heart of the defence was Tilly Chase and her sliders, after being missed last week it was so good to see her back in the team. Leafield as a team were working hard to get a foothold in the game. The first real chance of the game came when Doncaster launched a free kick into the box that saw the header direct straight into the safe hands of Colette Bell.
Leafield created a good move under the pressure of Daisy Mai Clements that saw the ball break to Chloe Shirley who moved it to Thea Clearkin who found Kathryn Pagan who tried to play in Grace Murphy. The move just didn’t connect but some great play between the players. Doncaster were the team mostly on the attack but Leafield were defending well to stop any real effort from causing Colette Bell any troubles in the Leafield goal. Doncaster broke down the wing and put a ball across the box but the oncoming attacker missed the ball and Colette Bell was there to direct the ball behind for a corner.
Doncaster looked to break in behind the defence with their number 7 but a heavy touch saw Colette Bell once again come off her line to collect the ball at the attackers feet. A long range effort near the end of the half was calmy saw over the bar by Colette Bell. Leafield broke in late on and just couldn’t get the ball under control as it wouldn’t quite fall right. Doncaster would create one final chance of the half when #7 once again broke in behind and cut inside and tried to play in the attacker who flicked the ball up and hit it near Colette Bell who caught it to keep it 0-0 as the half time whistle went. In all fairness Doncaster were the aggressors but Leafield defended really well and Colette Bell hadn’t had to make any real difficult saves but all to play for in the second half.
Also met a special guest at half time who was pleased with Laura’s performance but wanted to see more in the second half. Also mentioned was really impressed by Laura’s tone of blondeness to her hair before the game.
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The second half got underway with both teams looking for that first and opening goals with both teams looking good up until finding a finish to trouble each goalkeeper. The opening goal came when a ball over the top was pulled across the box and Sophie Scargill pulled the ball across the box for Sophie Brown to put the ball into the back of the net. Doncaster were 1-0 up on the hour mark. A goal that could of seen Leafield drop their heads but as you will see it was quite the opposite.
Leafield were looking to build their way back into the game but were nearly hit with a sucker punch as a free kick floated into the box and a good hit saw the ball strike the crossbar, I’m not sure if Colette got a touch on it but I wouldn’t be surprised if she did. Leafield completed a great move keeping the ball moving between Kathryn Pagan and Nieve Fallon saw the ball break to Daisy Mai Clements who unleashed a shot that just curled the wrong way of the goal.
It was all Leafield pressure now at the end of the game as Doncaster tried to hold onto their 1-0 lead. Nieve Fallon had a shot on the edge of the area after a free kick clearance. Colette Bell once again was making sure anything in behind the defence was dealt with to not cause issue. Hannah Gallimore had the confidence to hit a long shot that she connected with well, from my angle it looked good but was straight at the keeper.
Leafield still hadn’t given up or lost the urge to get back in to the game as Nieve Fallon played in Kathryn Pagan who fed it to Daisy Mai Clements and if not for an excellent last ditch tackle, it would of seen Daisy in behind and one on one with the keeper. But this was followed up by Daisy Mai Clements about to shoot and a block saw Thea pass the ball to the back post as just as Tilly Chase is about the smash the ball into the back of the net, the little toe of the Doncaster defender takes it off her path. The final whistle went moments after and Doncaster Belles held onto their 1-0 victory.
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So the final whistle sounds, the dust settles. The players are eating and it’s time to get back on the rocket bus to Birmingham. It’s a victory but the word of the day is PROUD. Can honestly say we left it all on the pitch and every player did themselves proud. A game against second in the division and probably the only team that will challenge Stourbridge for the title come the end of the season. And we pushed them up until the final whistle and created chances that on a different day we leave with a point. Defensively solid and didn’t give Doncaster much to feed on. After a stop at the services and a power nap it was time to part ways but once again a fantastic day with a bunch of fantastic people. In reality a place i’d rather be is non existence, my only regret is that this season is going by so fast but when you are having fun it flys by.
We have a Sunday off this week but are back in action with an away trip to Northampton Town who we drew 3-3 with at Highgate United near the start of the season. It will be a hard game as Northampton of late are flying in the league. It’s a double week next week also as we host Sporting Khalsa at Dickens Heath on Sunday 26th as well.
#WeAreLeafield