Hibernian Ladies 2000 v Murieston United LFC - Match Report
Hibernian Ladies 2000 make it 7 in a row in the League!
SWFL 2nd Division East League Game
Sunday 16th May 2010
Hibernian Ladies 2000 v Murieston United LFC
Venue: Redford Barracks, Edinburgh
This game was matching top of the league against 3rd and before the game started, there were 5 points between the teams. The weather was excellent with virtually no wind and it was mild so no complaints for either team about the weather or the underfoot conditions which were perfect for football.
Murieston United LFC are an experienced team and we knew they were capable of posing problems given their recent results. However, as ever, it would boil down to what we did and how we played that would determine who won the game and that is how it turned out.
From the start, Murieston United showed that they were going to be difficult to break down playing five at the back and four in midfield with one up. This meant that space would be at a premium in the final third and meant that final ball accuracy coupled with the movement of our front players would be critical if we were to create space to score.
The youngsters started really positively and passed the ball around the pitch, down both flanks and through the centre and created a number of chances with Julie Paton and Laura Smith getting chances to score. This excellent passing play delivered a number of corners but our runs were not as good as they could have been from excellent deliveries and Murieston were able to clear their lines.
As the game went on, our passing into the final third wasn’t good enough and our wide midfielders were being asked to chase balls that even with their pace they were struggling to do anything with.
However, just as it looked as if we were going to go in at half time level, our midfield found KIRSTY SMITH with a well weighted through ball and this ball allowed her to use her acceleration to skip past the defender and in a race with the keeper, Kirsty just got there in time to toe poke the ball into the corner of the net with the keeper helpless to do anything about it.
Half Time: Hibernian Ladies 2000 1 v 0 Murieston United LFC
The second half started with Murieston determined to get into the game and because it was only one nil, they were still well in contention at this stage of the game. A combination of our girls making some poor decisions and some good play from Murieston allowed them to get into the game. They could see that they were beginning to make some headway, especially down their left side and on a couple of occasions, Ashley Watson in the Hibernian 2000 goal was becoming more and more involved in the game. A delivery into the box had the Hibernian Ladies defence in trouble but they stood strong and together they cleared their lines when Murieston could have equalised.
At this point Gillian Perry was introduced into the wide right midfield with Bryony Ross dropping back to full back and Nikki Clark being withdrawn. Gemma Robb was pushed up front with Kirsten Weir being introduced into the central midfield and Laura Smith being withdrawn. Almost immediately following an excellent break, GEMMA ROBB scored our second goal from close range.
Murieston continued to work hard and on another occasion they managed to deliver a good ball into the 6 yard box but again the Hibernian Ladies defence managed to clear the danger. However, Murieston eventually scored what was a very well taken goal when a through ball over the top of our central defenders was collected by the Murieston forward who calmly stroked the ball into the corner of the net from 18 yards giving Ashley no chance.
This gave Murieston even more belief that they could take something from this game. However, the youngsters stabilised and started to gain good possession again asking questions of the Murieston defence and it was inevitable that a goal would come and it duly did from JULIE PATON from close range after excellent lead up play from Gemma Robb and Kirsty Smith. This goal was the one which won the game but in the 94th minute a brilliant corner from Kirsty Smith was bulleted home at the far post off the head of STACEY HUTCHISON who had made a late run to the back post. A truly outstanding goal and one fit to win any match!
Full Time: Hibernian Ladies 2000 4 v 1 Murieston United LFC
Brian Ross, coach of the 2000 squad said after the game that without any doubt the best team won. Murieston United fought very hard and had mentality about them especially in the second half that was, to say the least, intimidating for his players at times. However, his young squad coped well with this and at times played some outstanding football to run out were worthy winners in the end.
This wasn’t our most consistent performance of the season by a long way but we still had some excellent individual performances throughout the team. Captain MARIEL KANEY however, was truly outstanding at the heart of our midfield, driving her team forward at every opportunity and making the extra yards to put in some fantastic challenges to win possession for her side. She wins the Player of the Match this week. Chloe McNee gets the opponents Player of the Match after an excellent performance in midfield for Murieston United Ladies.
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