* Women’s F.A. Premier League- * * Sunday October 22^nd 2006*
* Leeds United Ladies 5 Cardiff City Ladies 0* * Leeds United** Ladies continue their unbeaten start as they smash five past Cardiff* After a tight first half that was played at a frenetic pace, Leeds produced a special 2^nd half display to continue their unbeaten start to the season and move up to third place in the league three points behind Charlton Athletic women with two games in hand of them. There was one change to the starting line-up that had beaten Barnet in the League Cup two weeks earlier as youngster Mel Sutcliffe made her first start in place of Jess Clarke who had picked up a foot injury. The two sides had met just a few weeks earlier in the League Cup, a game Leeds had won 4-0 and Cardiff were clearly trying to set the record straight. While Leeds controlled the possession and territory, they were reduced to attempts from distance from Jess Wright, Rachel McArthur and Karen Burke. Cardiff were doing a good job of starving Sue Smith of the ball but when it was at her feet, Leeds had a threat. On one occasion her cross was nodded wide by Sutcliffe and then shortly after, she twisted and turned, leaving Cardiff players on the floor before cutting the ball back. Karen Burke struck the ball goal wards but it was held by City keeper, Rhian Nokes. At the back, United were normally only having to deal with one striker. Recognising this, Jess Wright took the opportunity to break forward and support Alex Culvin on the left wing. Culvin rolled the ball to Wright, who produced a top quality delivery but Lucy Ward was unable to direct her header goal wards. When Cardiff did go forward, they were able to pose a danger without ever really creating a chance. However, it also provided Leeds with the space to counter attack. Having been defending a Cardiff corner, one immaculately measured pass from Rachel McArthur and Leeds were pushing forward and winning a corner of their own. The initial delivery was cleared back out to the right where Sue Smith made room and curled in a shot. Keeper Nokes parried and Nat Preston turned the ball home. The skipper’s effort just crossed the line before the scrambling Cardiff players could get to it. It was a cruel blow for the visitors, who had contained the home side well for 41 minutes but there was always a belief that Leeds would manufacture an opening. After the interval, it was a different story. Within a minute of the restart, Sue Smith had the ball in the area and a clumsy tackle saw Leeds awarded a penalty. Up stepped Karen Burke to drill home from the spot for the fourth time already this season. Suddenly United were up and running. Burke flashed the ball across goal, just beyond Lucy Ward. Some fantastic passing then led to another Ward strike that forced a save from Nokes. The Welsh Under 19 international was starting to get overworked. Then, another Burke cross picked out Smith at the far post and it was 3-0 with less than an hour on the clock. After 60 minutes of hard work, Mel Sutcliffe was replaced by Sarah Owen and she was straight into the action. Ward turned provider with a great ball in and Owen’s shot went agonisingly past the post. Holes were appearing for Cardiff now. Smith clipped a pass through and Preston beat the on rushing goalie to the ball only to see her effort cleared off the line. From the corner, the ball dropped nicely to Rachel McArthur who smashed in number 4 after 69 minutes. Nat Preston and Sue Smith combined again for a short corner and Smith saw her cross hit the top of the bar before Leeds scored the goal of the game. Rachel McArthur was having arguably her best game for Leeds at the heart of the midfield. Her pass selection and distribution was exquisite. The performance was summed up in the 73^rd minute as she effortlessly struck a pass on the half volley down the line. It was inch perfect for Lucy Ward just inside the penalty area on the right hand side but Ward caught everyone off guard as she took the shot on from a wide angle. She couldn’t have connected any better and the ball whistled into the top corner of the net. A goal of the highest calibre that even brought applause from opposition staff. At 5-0, Leeds had surpassed their efforts of the League Cup tie the teams had contested and were in position to register their biggest win of the campaign so far but they continued to attack. With her goal already registered, Ward produced a sublime cross that again found Sarah Owen. However, her header went just the wrong side of the upright. Sophie Walton, who again had deputised admirably at centre back, came off for the last 15 minutes and was replaced by Nat Haigh. Again, the energy of Nicole Emmanuel from right back was impressive in the latter stages as she continued to surge up and down the flanks. One power run and cross was cleared but she won the ball back and got a shot in but just dragged it. On the other side, Alex Culvin was also coming forward and a tremendous delivery ball-in was just beyond Lucy Ward. The ball did find its way into the back of the net one last time before the final whistle as Nat Preston found Sue Smith but as she rolled the ball home, the linesman flagged for offside. Leeds were forced to settle for five after a scintillating 45 minutes. Manager Julie Chipchase was delighted with the result “ The result was tremendous, Cardiff are a hard working team and we found it difficult in the first half to break them down, but we were patient and the goals came, we are creating a lot of chances and maybe we could have scored more on the day. The season has started off well, but it has been far from ideal with all these breaks I just hope we can now continue to play every week as there is a lot of confidence throughout the team, but they all know they have to work hard to get results. Match report by Tom Williams *Leeds United Next match* *Sunday 29th October 2006* *Leeds United Ladies v Blackburn Rovers Ladies* *Garforth Town FC* *2pm Kick Off*** _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist oh alright then :-)
