Ladies gain their first league win of the season

The ladies put last week’s disappointing performance behind them to comprehensively secure their first points of the season against opponents who had drawn their two opening league games.

The first half was an end to end affair with both sides creating chances and it was a surprise that the game was goal less at half time.

Freya Jenkins went closest to opening the scoring when her tenth minute lowly struck free kick saw Emily Tyler in the Oxford goal dive to her right to parry the ball away for a corner.

This was immediately followed by Shelby Preston-Morris putting crossing low across the goal area only for the ball to evade United’s on coming players.

At the other end Oxford looked dangerous on the counter attack with captain Lindsay Pinker influential in midfield and starting much of the visitors’ offensive play. Ruth Pearson was called upon to block a shot while Jenkins again put in a dangerous cross that Rosie Page-Smith put wide and Oxford’s Jess Doyle also saw a cross evade everyone in the Woodley penalty area.

The thirty fifth minute saw Woodley midfielder Maddie Sawyer substituted with an ankle injury that has been diagnose as between four – six weeks off. Two minutes later hesitation in the United defence saw Clara Stringer make a timely clearance which was followed Page-Smith trying for goal from distance, Pearson again blocking a visitors shot, Tyler gathering the ball in front of Jodie Penny from a Rebecca Gooch.

The half ended with Preston-Morris seeing her shot rebound into play off the underside of City’s crossbar.

Woodley started the second half with good tempo and possession in the visitors half with Preston-Morris dangerous with her runs from the left back position into opposition territory and twice putting good crossed into the penalty area that were cleared.

The opening game came in the fifty sixth minute when Page-Smith had time to shot from twenty five yards over Tyler to open the scoring.

Buoyed by the goal Woodley started to dominate and deservedly extended the lead in the sixty eight minute. Faye Ward capped an excellent game with good skill on the edge of Oxford’s penalty area before turning goal ward and seeing her shot go under Tyler into the net.

A hand injury to Preston-Morris brought her game to an end with twenty minutes remaining but the change did not unsettle United as an earlier substitute Amie Benton shot low pass Tyler with fifteen minutes remaining to complete the goal scoring.

However, United’s keeper Carly Chilton was required to push a shot onto her post before it was cleared to safety while returning from a long layoff Mollie Haines got herself into good positions to see a shot go wide after she reacted first to Tyler’s parry and then heading a Page-Smith cross wide.

Chilton, Scott, Surtees, Stringer (Benton), Preston-Morris (Hunt), Pearson, Ward, Penny (Tripp), Sawyer (Gooch), Jenkins (Haines), Page-Smith