| Royston: 0
Harpenden: 3
23.09.06
The opening league match took Harpenden away to Royston, with
Harpenden hoping to hit the ground running after a promising pre
season.
The match got underway as Harpenden had wished, with most of
the possession and all of the set moves.
Harpenden dominated the play and some good work by Lincoln, England
and Quinn saw the first short corner of the game awarded to Harpenden
but unfortunately not converted. More short corners were won by
the Harpenden strike force a slip left saw Captain Smith slapping
the ball home in trade mark fashion to lead 1-0.
A loss of concentration by the Harpenden side however let Royston
back into the game, with Meade having to stay alert and pulling
off two fantastic saves before half time proving her place in
the squad.
The second half came and Royston were more determined with a
slight change in formation, three attacking! This left Harpenden
with a few problems and on several occasions Royston’s wingers
fled forward to try and make amends. A couple of defensive shorts
were dealt with well by the defensive team, Connell, Gardner,
Slough and Dear and Harpenden regained the possession.
This slight scare helped kick start Harp’s back into action;
a beautifully weighted through ball from Slough saw Lincoln away
with only one defender and the keeper to beat. Anyone who knows
Lincoln put money on her to score and she didn’t disappoint,
as she coolly dribbled round the defender then dropped her shoulder
to pass the keeper before calmly passing the ball into the back
of the net! 2-0.
The goal brought a renewed enthusiasm to Harpenden’s game.
A flustered Royston side made several errors and it wasn’t
long before Smith capitalised on a poor pass and tackle, quickly
turning and finding herself on the edge of the D with no second
invitation needed to strike. 3-0!
A happy start to the season!
Harpenden will look to improve the performance for next week’s
home match against Saffron Walden, 11:30am.
Team: Emily Meade, Claire Gardner, Caroline Connell, Sue Dear,
Vicky Borman, Karen Slough, Louisa England, Jac Smith, Vicky Quinn,
Karen Lincoln, Julia Bradley, Jo Frankish
Goal Scorers: Jac Smith x2, Karen Lincoln.
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