27th September 2024
Report by Owen Mason.
Photo courtesy of Marc Payne Photography.
Cheltenham Town Women were held to a 2-2 draw by Gwalia United, despite leading 2-0 at halftime.
The Robinesses took an early lead through Doris Greenwood before Una Lue (pictured) doubled the lead.
In the torrential downpour in the second half, Gwalia pulled one back through Ellie Sargent, before Kylie Nolan equalised for the visitors.
First Half:
Cheltenham started the game on the front foot, with the majority of the match being played within Gwalia’s half. 12 minutes into the game, the hosts took the lead. A fantastic run by Una Lue started the attack, but her shot was blocked. The ball fell to Doris Greenwood who finished brilliantly to give Cheltenham a deserved lead.
The Robinesses doubled their advantage not long after, with Una Lue getting the second. Lue pressed Gwalia’s fullback Piggott well and managed to get a shot off as the tackle came in from behind her, with her shot sneaking past O’Sullivan-Jones.
30 minutes into the game, the Cheltenham captain Emily Owen put in a great tackle on the halfway line to win back possession. However, the Gwalia bench were unhappy with this and their manager was shown the first red card of the game.
A fantastic shot by Lacy-Jai Liggett forced an even better save from O’Sullivan-Jones just before the half-time break in Gwalia’s goal to tip the ball onto the crossbar and eventually cleared out by the defence.
Second Half:
During the half-time break, the rain came down heavily with the adverse weather having a big impact on both sides.
Early into the second half, a brilliant strike from Ellie Sargent looped over Mia Smith and closed the gap for the visiting side.
Cheltenham kept the pressure on Gwalia, battling the elements as much as their opponents. Unfortunately though, the visitors were able to break through and equalised with just 15 minutes to go as Kylie Nolan put herself on the scoreboard against her former club.
The intense rain made it a challenge for either side to successfully retain possession, with neither team able to dominate the ball.
Despite Lacy-Jai Liggett being shown a second yellow card late on, Cheltenham dug deep to hold onto the draw and take a share of the points.
Cheltenham: Smith; Wellesley-Davies, Llewlleyn, Owen; Trinci (Hateley 62), Attenborough (Leach 83), Pemberton(Collis 75), Liggett, Lue; Butcher (Bell 70),Greenwood.
Cheltenham Player of the Match:
Chosen by Opposition: Lacy-Jai Liggett
Attendance: 113.
