Stamford AFC Ladies Team 2009-10
Sunday 14th Feb
Lincoln moorlands railway FC 1 – 0 Stamford Ladies
Stamford travelled away in the Lincolnshire ladies cup and on arrival found a heavy pitch that had already hosted 2 games on the last 24 hours. Despite the pitch the home team tried to play football and found their stride quicker than Stamford.
On 15 minutes after a succession of corners by railway a near post corner was missed by everyone and whilst railway appealed the ball had crossed the line Nia Lelliot cleared the ball.
Stamford competed well on a very muddy midfield but struggled to make any real scorng opportunities.
The first goal from the game came on 35 minutes when Railway won a corner and Stamford were slow to clear. The ball was cleared from the initial corner but when shot back in took a deflection from Stamford centre back Sarah Holwell and nestled on the corner.
An injury at half time forced stamford into a centre back change with Hayley needham switching to centre back and Liz Dawson coming on at right back.
Stamford battled well in the second half but did not create many scoring opportunites and were limited to long range efforts.
Railway were pushing for a 2nd and missed an open goal after nicking the ball from the Stamford goalkeeper Alex Jackson when through on goal.
Despite a valliant display Stamford dropped out of the cup at the first hurdle.
Stamford team. A. Jackson, H. Needham, S. Holwell, E. Berry, N Lelliot, L. Markham, N. Meed, A. Rigby, L. Couzins, K. Bingham, K. Mee
subs: C. Williams, J. Smith, K. Dawson.
7th February 2010
STAMFORD LADIES vs PETERBOROUGH DIAMONDS LADIES
Stamford played host to top of the table Diamonds in what was to be a hard fought match. Diamond predicatively started strongly and a miss kick by Stamford defence let them score their first goal. Stamford were not giving up and put pressure on Diamonds but were unable to make any shots on goal. With just five minutes before the end of the first half Diamonds scored from a corner kick and then straight after when the Stamford Defence were caught off guard.
With a few changes made in the second half Stamford started the stronger side. There were a few more chances on goal from Charlotte Williams but they just went wide. Twenty minutes into the second half Stamford played the passing football they should and Charlotte impressively scored from outside the box. Stamford stood strong in midfield with Liz Couzins and Emma Wilkinson making some impressive passes. The Stamford defence also stood strong with Sarah Hollowell and Emma Berry making some great tackles and Diamonds only managed one shot on goal in the second half. The game finished 3 – 1 to the Diamonds but Stamford Ladies should be proud of the way they held their own in the second half.
Team: N.Lelliott, E.Berry, S,Hollowell, H.Needham, A.Jackson, C.Williams, K.Bingham, K.Mee, J.Smith, A.Rigby, K.Dawson, E.Wilkinson, L.Markham, L.Couzins,
CUP MATCH
31st January 2010
STAMFORD LADIES (4) 2 – 2 (2) BOURNE LADIES
After a delayed start due to change of venue this cup tie kicked off with both terms fighting for early dominance. Within the first 5 minutes Bourne put pressure on the Stamford defence with a corner that didn’t materialise. Stamford then had a number of opportunities on goal but each time it just went wide.
Twenty minutes in Bourne took the lead when the Stamford goalie fumbled a save. Stamford pushed forward again and another shot from Louise Markham went wide. With the pressure now on Charlotte Williams went for goal but collided with the Bourne goalkeeper who fumbled the ball which left Kirsty Mee to slot it home for Stamford.
Half time it was one all and all to play for.
Bourne again started the second half putting pressure on Stamford defence and after failing to clear it they knocked it home to take the lead. The battle then started and Stamford were relentless on the attacks on goal but were unable to finish.
With ten minutes to go Emma Wilkinson made a fine pass through to Nicola Mead who shot it pass the keeper where Charlotte Williams was there to tap it in to secure another goal. Stamford then again piled on the pressure but the score didn’t change to end two all.
Due to the late start it was decided by both teams to go straight to penalties. First to take for Stamford was Kimberley Bingham who effortlessly slotted it pass the keeper. Bourne then scored the first of theirs. Next Kirsty Mee stepped up and again put it into the net. Alex Jackson then saved the next penalty from Bourne to put Stamford ahead. Third to step up to the mark was Emma Berry.
And again Stamford put it past the keeper. Alex Jackson then again made a lovely save to make it 3 – 1. All it needed then was for Nicola Mead to score which she did with ease and put Stamford through into the next round of the cup.
Team: E.Berry, N.Lelliott, S.Hollowell, A.Jackson, H.Needham, K.Mee, J.Smith, N.Mead, E.Wilkinson, L.Markham, A.Rigby, K.Bingham, C.Williams, K.Dawson.
24th January 2010
Hampton 3-1 Stamford AFC Ladies
If Hampton had predicted that Stamford Ladies could be roughed up and that they could not deal with high balls into the area they would have be half right. The Hampton team scored three goals from balls into the box in the air to send Stamford crashing to a defeat, but the Stamford team made a fight of it and on the balance of the 2nd half deserved more from this game.
Hampton started strongly and from the first whistle put the Stamford defence under pressure. Stamford started in a 4-5-1 formation and defended well until a corner from Hampton 4 minutes into the match. The ball played into the 6 yard box from the Hampton number 10 was poorly defended and Hampton took the lead amid the confusion. Stamford were forced into an early substitution on 10 minute with their Captain coming off and forcing a change in roles with Emma Berry dropping back into her usual central defensive position.
On Stamford’s first real attack of the game Kimberley Bingham won a free kick in the Hampton half and the centre back combination of an Emma Berry cross and a Sarah Hollowell header led to an equaliser on 14 minutes, Stamford were down to 10 players whilst new signing Liz Couzins was being treated for an injury off of the pitch Hampton took advantage of their numerical supremacy and took a 2-1 lead on 20 minutes.
A further substitution was forced on Stamford AFC on 30 minutes with Sarah Hollowell coming off with a back injury and with players out of position Hampton took a 3-1 lead on 35 minutes. Good interchange play on the right hand side lead to a deep cross to the back post, Emily Davies attempting to clear a ball that game through a crowd of players deflected the ball into the net. Hampton came close to making it 4-1 in the 40th minute, after a free kick was conceded in the Stamford half – a flick on at the edge of the area led to a great off the line clearance from Emily Davies.
Stamford were glad to break at half time and re-organise and came out in a familiar 4-4-2 formation with Kirsty Mee pushing up into an attacking 2 and Charlotte Williams adding a physical presence in the midfield. Stamford competed well in the 2nd half and at times had Hampton a panicking whilst defending . However the Stamford team could not close the gap and the game finished 3-1.
Stamford AFC ladies next play at home (Empingham Road) in the next round of the cup against Bourne. Sunday 31st January 2pm Kick Off.
Stamford AFC Ladies (4-5-1). A. Jackson, H. Needham, N. Lelliot, S. Hollowell, E. Davies, E. Berry, K. Mee, J. Smith, K. Dawson, L. Markham , K. Bingham Subs: A. Rigby (40), C. Williams, L (30). Couzins (15)
Sunday 8th November
Stamford Ladies 2-3 Chatteris (GAME ABANDONED)
For the first time this season Stamford Ladies has a full and strong squad available. Playing Chatteris who were 2 places above them in the league they needed a good performance after some disappointing results in the last 2 games.
Starting with a conventional 4-4-2 Stamford started stronger with 4 efforts on goal in the first 20 minutes. However the visitors took the lead in their first real attack when the lively Chatteris number 14 got to the ball first in a foot race with the Stamford keeper, she finished neatly rounding the keeper and slotting home. Stamford equalised on 30 minutes, an assist by Nicola Mead resulted in a lob from Charlotte on 42 minutes. A minute later a ball through from Kirsty lead to Charlotte hitting the bar. With 2 minutes to go a free kick was given away by Stamford on 22yds, the defence were slow to organise the wall and the Chatteris #14 scored her second to make it 1-2, at half time.
In the 2nd Half, Stamford started stronger with several half chances in first 5 minutes. However on 50 minutes, Amy pressured the Chatteris defence leading to a mistake and Stamford gaining possession. Neat passing between Emma W, Nicola and kirtsy led to goal for Kimberly to make it 2-2. The next goals followed a near miss from Amy Rigby from a corner, from the clearance Nia slipped when last defender, leaving Chatteris #14 with much to do, however a long shot was mishandled by the Stamford changed keeper Charlotte. 5 minutes later a push on Kimberly in area lead to Stamford opportunity to bring the game level for a 3rd time, Kirsty penalty was saved by keeper. However this eventful game was far from over and in an almost carbon copy of the Chatteris 3rd goals, Nia Lelliot cleared the ball back to the Stamford keeper and from the resulting fair challenge fell awkwardly and was injured. The resulting shoulder injury meant the emergency services were calls and with the light abandoned the game was regrettably abandoned.
The injured player has now made a fully recovery and is expecting to be back in the team soon.
Sunday 15th November
Downham Ladies 0 – 3 Stamford Ladies
Stamford Ladies took 11 players only to Downham Market to play the bottom of the league side. However Stamford only managed to have 10 players available at the kick off and Downham started strongly forcing Stamford to defend well.
Downham were dangerous playing the ball behind the Stamford full back several times in the first 10 minutes, however solid defending from Centre back pairing of Sarah Holwell and Emma Berry cleared any danger. Stamford first chance came when their 11th player turned up and they switched to the normal 4-4-2. A through ball to Kirsty Mee saw her blast over from inside the area on the 22nd minutes, the best chance of the half to that point.
Mee made amends 3 minutes later when again she was put through by the Stamford midfield this time slotting the ball into the corner of the net to give Stamford the lead. Stamford were making good progress down the right hand side with Emily Denis and Amy Rigby combining well, Rigby’s pace and crossing was a constant danger to Downham and one cross led to a corner in the 33rd minutes. The corner taken by Ribgy led to hesitation from the Downham defence and Emma Berry was quickest to react stabbing the ball home from 5 yards.
Stamford survived an uncertain last 7 minutes of the half with pressure down the left side; however some brave defending throughout the team saw Stamford go into half time preserving their 2 goal lead.
Stamford made a switch in the 2nd half pushing Erin Carmody up front and switching Kirsty Mee to left midfield. Downham also made a switch in the 2nd half changing keepers however neither changed the game significantly until on the 65th minute Stamford won a corner. When the ball broke on the edge of the area Emma Berry span and shot in one movement placing the ball in the top corner. Hayley Needham and Kirsty Mee combined well down the left side of midfield during the final minutes of the game and Stamford held onto their 3-0 lead for a convincing victory.
