Two nil down,
Who gives a ****,
We're Torquay United and we're going up!
Played Brislington Ladies today and found ourselves 2-0 down after 5 minutes. Playing a defensive line far too high, we allowed an extremely pacy Brislington front line in behind us twice and both times we conceded.
The match hinged on a 15th minute incident. A great ball over the top from Crookie took a favourable bounce for Goughy as it checked rather than bouncing through to the waiting keeper. This odd hop allowed Goughy to be first to the ball and knock it into the box and beyond the keeper, who was left with no option but to trip the Yellow striker to give away the penalty. Amid calls from some in the crowd (
), the referee held his nerve and awarded the red card to the guilty goalie. There can be no question that it was the correct decision, but it always feels harsh in the women's game.
Crookie duly stepped up the knock the resultant spot kick beyond the statuesque stand-in stopper. 2-1, 11-v-10 and game on. And so it proved just a minute later as Torquay won a corner which was beautifully swept in by Crookie for Captain Fantastic Fannon to nod into the top corner, unchallenged, 8 yards out. 2-2 and a totally different game now.
From this point, it was all Torquay. The home side looked really good going forward and very steady at the back. Jess and Adele at CB were keeping the strikers at arm's length and Beth was making some key clearances when the ball did get in behind. As an aside, her starting position is a real revelation this year. She's ALWAYS first to the ball if she goes for it. She's not quick, but she doesn't have to be. A real talent.
Brislington, meanwhile, were keeping us at bay with some solid defending of their own, but their midfield had sat so deep onto the defence that it was leaving Crookie all sorts of time in the middle to find some outrageous passes. One, eventually, found the mark perfectly and Goughy, not on to look a gift horse in the mouth, beat the offside trap and raced clear. The keeper, in these positions, is in a no win situation. If they stay at home, Goughy just rifles it past them. If they come, she goes round them, then rifles it in, which is sort of what she did today. Having walked past the advancing keeper, she looked up to see a defender rushing back to cover. No problem for Goughy, she scuffed her shot completely, but it trickled behind the defender on the line and into the back of the net to give the Yellows the lead.
The next incident was common, but anything but routine. The ball found its way down the left hand side and was played square to Crookie who hit one left footed from all of 30 yards. The ball left her foot like a rocket and proceeded to rip over the head of the keeper and into the net. Yet another very special strike to add to Louisa's rapidly expanding collection. 4-2 and Torquay in total control at half time.
The second half was somewhat different. The first 15 minutes were a total non-event. Absolutely nothing happened. Then Crookie went in on a girl in the middle of the park. It wasn't a good tackle by any means, but it wasn't crime of the century either. She was booked, which was probably fair. Unfortunately, she went in, in a similar fashion, on the same girl about 5 minutes later. A stern word from the referee on this occasion, but Crookie knew that any more and she was off. And so it proved on the hour mark, as once again she went to ground and took the player instead of the ball. For a short while it looked as though she might get away with it again, as the referee seemed to be doing more talking than reaching for cards. Alas, the animated discussions were a mere precursor to the main event second yellow and inevitable red which followed. 10-v-10, game on? Well, it would be if Brislington could get one back soon. Well, from the resulting free kick, which was hammered long into the box, a red and white head rose highest and made decent connection with the ball. Although Beth got two hands to it, she wasn't quite able to tip it over the bar and the ball shot into the roof of her net. 4-3 with 25 minutes to go...
Thankfully, precious little else happened. There was time for Niamh to come on and get booked almost immediately for what looked more like a slip than a tackle. Torquay also had three cleared off the line and one off the bar.
A game then which was won by a very special strike from a hugely talented player who spoilt her day by being sent off. Man of the match, since it can't really go to Crookie, despite two goals and two assists, goes to Maria Warman, who had a really neat game on the right wing. Captain Fantastic also played well at the back. Smudger gets the "Forgot My Shooting Boots" for her effort in the first half which was actually closer to the goal when it left her foot than it was when it eventually went out of play for a goal kick. Beth takes home the "Mario Ballotelli Memorial **** You Award" for keeping the ball after their third goal and then punting it up the field. And finally, the award for "Person Most Likely To Be Mistaken For Kenny From South Park" goes to Sian. The judges were won over by her use of a hoodie with a drawstring to mimic the style made famous by our animated friend.
Next week, we put another team to the slaughter. Be there, or be square.
Matt.
