Match Report

Solihull Ladies FC v Stratford Ladies LFC, 2 - 1

West Midlands Premier League, League Cup 1st Round

With a few weeks off due to waterlogged pitches, Solihull got back down to business with a home tie in the first round of the league cup, a competition which had been missing from the domestic schedule in recent years. With their opponents Stratford having already taken the 6 points from the league games this season, Solihull were looking for revenge.

The poor playing surface was uneven in places and did not help the home team settle in with their early touches. Poor control and passing were common occurrences and despite by far having the better of first half play; Solihull struggled to find their best form.

The first clear chance of the game came on 11 minutes after a superb individual piece of running by Emily Link. After dribbling past her marker out on the wing, she expertly cut in from the by-line and dribbled past a number of defenders before being felled by a mistimed Stratford challenge. The referee had no other alternative then to award a penalty, which Link duly stepped up to take. Trying to place the ball to the keepers left, the shot lacked power but the keeper dived well to push the ball away and deny Solihull the chance to open the scoring.

Solihull continued to dominate the first half, with excellent skill from Lyndsey Josephs allowing her to find herself some space inside the box before firing in a wonderful opening goal on 25 minutes, 1-0. With Solihull still not looking entirely slick and smooth in their play, they were still the better side with Stratford having the occasional foray into the home teams half, without causing much danger and Solihull were perhaps disappointed not to have taken a bigger lead into the second half.

Stratford began the second half with new-found energy and were rewarded with more spells attacking the home goal then they managed in the first half. Despite Solihull still having the better of the possession, they often struggled to effectively clear the ball when defending or link together good passes to maintain pressure on Stratford. This scrappy start to the second half led to a mistake from Solihull keeper Nathalie Simon in the 13th minute that allowed the visitors to equalise. A routine goal kick was kicked directly at the Stratford forward who had time to control the ball and stroke it into an unguarded net, 1-1.

The remainder of the second half was a largely uneventful affair and despite having the better of possession, Solihull did not create many good openings to retake the lead. In fact Solihull were lucky not to crash out of the competition on 88 minutes when a Stratford corner had to be quickly cleared after nearly finding its target. In the end, extra time beckoned and Solihull sprung to life with substitute Sian Davies using her fresh legs to good effect and causing numerous problems for Stratford, her 28-minute effort finding its mark, only to be cancelled out for offside. However, Links long range effort with just a minute to go was enough to send Solihull through and save the tension of a penalty shootout.

Final Score: Solihull 2 v 1 Stratford AET

Solihull Player of the Match: Lyndsey Josephs

[TEAM: Simon; Coley; Kelly (Davies); Slade (C); Brimson; Pointon (Hands); Josephs (1); Wentworth; Levasseur; Pugh (Westwood); Link (1)]

Established 1994