Match Report

Kidderminster v Solihull Ladies FC

West Midlands Premier League

With Solihull suffering their biggest defeat last season at the hands of this tall and strong team, this was always going to be a tough game on the small Kidderminster pitch.

Solihull began the game very flat, lacking the desire and spirit to properly compete with such tough tackling home side. A defensive error on 10 minutes allowed the ball to find the space behind the back four and with Nathalie Simon unable to gather the ball in, DiPaolo was able to open the scoring, 1-0.

Simon was called into action again ten minutes later as a well struck freekick had to be tipped over the bar to prevent Kidderminster from further extending their lead. Despite surviving this effort, Solihull were poor in clearing the ball from the resultant corner and with too much space to work with the ball was superbly struck into the top corner by the excellent Porter, 2-0.

Going two nil down finally revitalised Solihull and they began to play with the passion and commitment required to compete with such a physical Kiddi team. The midfield was superb in neutralising the opposing central midfielders and limiting the amount of long balls played. This created a better attacking platform and the link between the midfield and forwards began to click with good passing allowing both Sian Davies and Emily Link to find a bit of space to run at the home team.

It was a superb run into the box from Davies that completely opened up the Kidderminster defence and created a good goal-scoring opportunity, only for her legs to be clipped by a Kiddi defender. Although Davies did manage to stay on her feet, the stumble meant the chance passed when a penalty should have been awarded. Just minutes later an almost identical move by Davies again opened up the Kidderminster back line and this time the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty which Mel Pugh struck home confidently on 34 minutes, 2-1.

Heading into half time, it was Solihull who were by far the stronger team, pinning the home team back and limiting their possession. A good move resulted in the post denying a well hit Pugh shot from levelling the scores and Sarah Wentworth was unable to slot home the rebound, shooting over the net.

The second half couldn’t have started better for Solihull, who within 5 minutes were back in the game following excellent wing play from Jo Pointon. Taking on and beating the fullback, she floated in a lovely ball which Emily Link headed in at the far post to level the scores, 2-2.

Despite Solihull looking the batter of the two teams in the second half, they still had some defending to do as Kidderminster tried to regain their advantage using the long throw to good effect. An untidy and scrambled defensive effort did not clear the ball properly and the resulting Kidderminster shot was hit at Rosie Slade’s face, which the referee deemed to be a handball. The resultant penalty was stroked home to put the home team back in front, 3-2.

A couple of substitutions added fresh legs to the mix and with the superior fitness levels of Solihull beginning to show, Solihull had more possession and territory as they pushed again for an equaliser. A good one two between Wentworth and Link opened the door for a shot from Link and despite the keeper looking to have caught the soft shot, she succeeded in throwing it into her own net, 3-3.

Immediately from kick off the diagonal ball caught Solihull napping as the left winger got clear of the defence. After getting the better of Vicky Coley she placed a pinpoint shot over Simons head from a tight angle to find the far corner and give Kidderminster the lead for the 3rd time in the match, 4-3. With Solihull still reeling, they were determined to take something from the game and committed numbers forward in an attempt to get another equaliser.

A counter-attack almost lead to a further goal for Kidderminster as the striker was able to get to a through ball before Simon. She did well to chip the ball goal-bound before contact with Simon but luckily Emily Brimson was on hand to clear the ball off the line. With time ticking down another penalty was awarded after a Link solo run was ended with a poor tackle. This time it was Sarah Westwood who stepped up and easily slammed home the ball to give Solihull a share of the spoils, 4-4.

In what was a well fought game, defensive mistakes from Solihull meant they had to work very hard to get anything from this game and will be looking for a better result in the reverse fixture.

Final Score: Kidderminster 4 v 4 Solihull

Solihull Player of the Match: Mel Pugh

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

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