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TEAM INFORMATION
- Ladies U18
Previous Fixture(s): 9th Oct 2022 Ladies U18 v City of York(Home) 1 - 5 loss Ben Rhydding Girls u18 1 York Girls U18 5 The girls u18 played in the first round of the EH Tier 2 cup on Sunday. This was always going to be a tough fixture against a strong York team but unfortunately the girls were not able to do themselves justice. York took an early lead md then added another quite soon after. Although the Ilkley girls had waves of attacks and numerous short corners they were unable to narrow this gap. A third goal came for York on the stroke of half time. The second half of the match saw the team much more disciplined in defence and were eventually rewarded with the goal they deserved when captain Daisy Laxton converted one of the corners. The girls were now back in the game but a York player was allowed the run unopposed and scored a spectacular goal. Rhydding now know they would need to put pressure on to try and get the goals required. A 5th goal came for York. This was an entertaining game and the score line certainly does not reflect the competitiveness and closeness of it. The girls now proceed in to the Plate completion with the first round of this due to be played on Sunday 30th October (opposition and venue to be confirmed). 6th Mar 2022 Ladies U18 v Manx Girls(Home) 5 - 3 win Ben Rhydding’ U18 girls look forward to an EH plate semi final after a hard-earned victory against a strong Isle of Man side on Sunday. Manx deserve an award for tenacity in getting the game played at all, bad weather and last-minute ferry/flight cancellations having seen the fixture postponed twice already. The home side started strongly, putting the Isle of Man under early pressure early, forcing an error on a defensive hit out which Holly Pears latched onto and made no mistake, driving into the D and round the keeper to open the scoring. This was a wake-up call for the visitors, who gradually asserted themselves in the game, enjoying a period of possession to mount a wave of attacks, earning a spate of short corners which Rhydding defended valiantly, GK Fran Tometzki stepping in with some crucial saves. It was only a matter of time before Manx scored a deserved equaliser, pouncing on a loose ball after some defensive confusion. Game on. An end-to-end game ensued, Ben Rhydding creating numerous chances, fine runs from Daisy Laxton and Rebecca Harrison always threatening, but were equally reliant on some stalwart defending from Lucy Otway and Ellie Koral to thwart their visitors. It was youngsters Lucy Laycock and Lydia Sunman who combined to restore the home lead, Sunman driving the ball along the back line to find Laycock on hand for a deflection on the post. Poppy Lawson showed her class, controlling the central defence and distributing well throughout the match, and choosing the perfect moment to step up into attack to fire home for the third goal, following a well-timed pass from Marnie Scatchard, who worked tirelessly throughout. Into the second half and Rhydding knew they must press home the advantage, as their visitors always looked threatening on the break. Pears eased the pressure with another stylish solo goal, beating a couple of defenders before unleashing an unstoppable shot past the hapless keeper. 4-1. Was the win secured? Isle of Man thought otherwise, piling on the pressure once again and bringing the best out of Rhydding defenders Ana Campean and Rose Midgley, confidently marshalling the flanks and distributing well to midfield. Manx enjoyed another flurry of short corners and were finally rewarded for their efforts, reducing the deficit with a well struck shot from close range. Into the last 10 minutes of the game and home supporters’ had to put celebrations on ice once again, as the visitors reduced the deficit to one, a neatly taken deflection just reward for some sustained attacking efforts. Three minutes on the clock and Rhydding adopted the ‘attack is the best form of defence’ approach (aka ‘if we keep the ball in their D they can’t score in ours’) and Laycock was on hand to secure the win, sweeping the ball home after a goalmouth scramble from which there was no way back for the Isle of Man. And breathe … Ben Rhydding can now look forward to hosting Devizes in the semi final on 20 March. |
