Ladies bow at semi-final stage of league cup

United exited the Southern Region Women’s Football League’s league cup at the semi-final stage against Premier Division leaders Chesham United who have a 100% league record and looking to complete a league and cup double.

Despite the score line Woodley frustrated their hosts to go in goalless at half time that saw much of the play in the visitors’ half, the cross bar deny Kat Bowers and Nicole Haines make a number of excellent saves especially to deny the league’s leading scorer Gemma Fraser on a number of occasions when one on one.

A change in player position midway through the first half led to Woodley increasing ball possession with the best chance falling to Rosie Page-Smith who with the ball on her unflavoured left foot steered it at Chesham keeper Lucia Masella in the thirty third minute.

Playing down the slope in the second half, Chesham started strongly, with substitute Lidia Niedertubbesing-Lopez lively up front, putting Woodley under pressure and achieved an early breakthrough when Alice Cooke headed into her own net in the forty ninth minute.

Haines was required to save a minute later followed by tipping a shot over the bar as Woodley sought to weather the attacks which they did and Louise Burgess forcing a corner from Masella when one on one in the sixty third minute.

However, a three minute spell of Chesham pressure followed, that saw Haines block Niedertubbesing-Lopez, Fraser fire wide before Gemma Darvill found space to fire home on sixty nine minutes to double the host’s lead.

Woodley changed their formation immediately to positive effect but were undone in the final minutes that saw Fraser have a goal disallowed for offside with three minutes remaining, Sarah Harrison hold of challenge to score her team’s third as the match entered stoppage time, Fraser hit the underside of the bar and Niedertubbesing-Lopez complete the scoring three minutes into added time.

While disappointing to bow out of the cup, Woodley can take heart from the fact that Chesham play a division higher and that many Premier division teams have fared worse against Chesham this season.

N Haines, Evans, Wilkins, Ward (Edwards), Surtees, Cooke, Lowes, Burgess, Page-Smith, Sawyer, M Haines Sub not used: Lowther