Watford Ladies U14 2 - Stevenage Borough LFC 3.

Stevenage had strong defence, in particular a fortress of a centre back, and yet seemed less confident when on the attack, whereas Watford were at full strength when going forward but often looked a little venerable defending with some important defensive players missing from their team.

From the start Watford surged forward and put pressure on the Stevenage defence who successfully fended off a series of attacks from the yellows.

It took 20 minutes before the deadlock was broken when Stevenage managed to take advantage of their goal keeper’s superior range to catch out the Watford defence and score the opening goal.

Watford came back when team Captain Emma F. dribbled the ball down the middle and shot for the Stevenage goal. The keeper got fingers to it but failed to keep it out of their net. 1-1.

Shortly before the half time whistle Stevenage again found a way through to the Watford goal to regain their lead. Half time score 1-2.

Half time substitution Ollie S. brought extra strength to the midfield and soon a pass from Emma gave Taylor M. a run at the Stevenage goal keeper to bring the score back to 2 goals each as the shot went in, under the bar.

Both teams battled end to end with some tough football and Kirsty G., Watford’s player of the match, played her best ever game as she covered both left-back and right-back positions well during the game.

Watford’s best chances to take the lead came as winger Emily P. unleashed her great speed and rumbled the Stevenage defenders several times never managed to convert to a goal..

Five minutes before the end, Stevenage pushed forward and got several players in the box. The close up shot, across the ground, defied the grasp of the Watford Keeper as the ball rolled towards the line. Clearances failed and Stevenage finally tapped the ball in to secure the win.

There were 2 good performances but only one winner.

Final score 3-2.