Harrogate Railway Ladies were away today against Sheffield Wednesday Ladies in the North East Regional League. Conditions were perfect with almost a carpet of a pitch to go express themselves. The first 15 minutes saw Rail move the ball around with great purpose.
Player of the match Jodi Hodgson linking up well with both flanks to consistently threaten both sides of the pitch.
Unfortunately in these first dominating 15 minutes Rail could only create one or two shots on goal by Nicola Hadley. However Sheffield kicked into gear & on 30 minutes broke down Railways left to create a one on one with the Rail keeper who could do nothing to stop the goal , 1-0 Sheffield. Rail were rattled & mistakes began to creep into their play & Sheffield again punished these errors with another quick break down the left only for the winger to cut back to an open striker, 2-0 Sheffield half time.
Railway needed to get back to basics & start to use the ball with more confidence which was the clear message at half time. Again Rail started well creating clear chances for both Chloe Elphick & Nicola Hadley, but again Rail failed to hit the target.
The play in the second half overall was much more confident & chances were created as asked. Unfortunately a dubious off-side & lady luck just didn’t accompany the team on the day. Rail are learning fast that confidence is key and they are starting to show definite signs of improvement, not long before they break their luck I predict.
Huge plaudits go to all the girls for their second half performance & they get to do it all again next Sunday at home again against Sheffield Wednesday Ladies, 2pm KO at Station View.
