After a disappointing result last Sunday, going out of the FAWNL League Cup against Stoke, Steve O’Hara’s team were looking to bounce back to their winning league form on Sunday against Merseyrail Ladies FC. Find out how they got on in our latest weekly update.
County react late on to snatch a point:
Earlier in the week, this match had had been ‘reversed’ from the away fixture scheduled, as Merseyrail’s home ground, at Camel Laird FC on the Wirral, was deemed unplayable earlier in the week.
Merseyrail had had a slow start to the season, but were starting to show some form, with good recent performances in the FA Cup and in the league against Bradford and Durham.
It was apparent from early in the match that Merseyrail were not looking to go on the offensive. During the first half, play rarely got into our half of the pitch as County dominated the possession. Unfortunately, this dominance did not result in a goal and the score was still 0-0 at the break.
The second half continued in much the same vein. Steve O’Hara used all four substitutes to try and break the deadlock, but to no avail. Then, with just seven minutes remaining, County were dealt a sucker-punch as Merseyrail took the lead from a corner.
With time running out, County pressed hard and were finally rewarded for their efforts with a penalty in the 90th minute. Levi Rathburn stepped up, in the absence of regular penalty taker Kenedy Owen, but her effort was saved by the ‘keeper. Quick reactions though saved the day, as she followed up to hammer the ball home on the rebound.
Steve O’Hara was disappointed with the result, but still found positives from the match.
“A very frustrating afternoon against a team who put eleven players behind the ball and sat on the edge of their own area. I have no issues with how they set up, in a way it’s a compliment, teams are coming to us to defend and nick a point!
“It was up to us to break them down and I don’t think we were good enough on the day. However, we did show good character to keep going right to the end and get a point. In all honesty, last season we probably would have lost that type of game.
“It’s an old saying – if you don’t play well and still get a positive result, then you must take that. On to the FA Cup now, and a good chance to progress to the next round.”
County Ladies remain in fifth place and continue their league campaign in three weeks, at home against Norton and Stockton on the 27th November.
Penrith AFC from the NW Women’s Regional League Division One North are our opponents in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup on Sunday. Let’s hope that we can follow the lead of County’s men and go through to the next round in style!
