7th October 2019
CTLFC Reserves 4
Bristol Ladies Union 2
Goalscorers:
Cheltenham: Griffiths 12′, Wadey 18′, 62′, N. Marshall 84′
Bristol Ladies Union: Preece 15′, Farr 24′
By Ben Ware
The message from manager Cameron Cheal before kick-off was for the Development side to build on last week’s performance and to take any chances that fall to them. That is exactly what they did as they put four past high-flying Bristol Ladies Union at Tewkesbury School.
Sophie Griffiths opened the scoring on the twelfth minute after a fine spell of play saw Hannah Galpin put the young winger through on goal who slotted calmly past the ‘keeper.
Bristol Ladies Union equalised after a long ball went through Ellie Preece who provided a fine finish into the top corner.
Jess Wadey would restore Cheltenham’s lead with a fantastic free-kick before Lily Farr would equalise for the visitors, tapping in from a good corner.
Half time: Robins Reserves 2-2 Bristol Ladies Union
Bristol Ladies Union fashioned some good chances but a fine performance from Player of the Match, Molly Ripley (pictured), meant they couldn’t find another goal.
Wadey would then bag her second of the game after some great work from Naomi Marshall, who beat two players and unselfishly pulled it back for the influential midfielder to smash in from the edge of the box.
A plethora of chances from Holly Fenton, Caitlin Marron and Hannah Dix tested Bristol’s keeper but The Robins couldn’t get another goal, reminiscent of the previous week’s trip to Almondsbury.
Despite the ball spending most the the time in their half, it was the visitors who came closest to scoring the game’s next goal, as a long range shot required excellence from Ripley in the Cheltenham goal, who tipped over the bar.
The game was then wrapped up as Naomi Marshall found a chance to blitz down the left, past all of Union’s defenders and place it past the oncoming goalkeeper and into the bottom corner.
Both teams would create chances near the death but neither were able to hit the mark, with Cam Cheal’s side collecting all the three points.
Cheltenham: M. Ripley, H. Dix, E. Simpson, A. Barker, A. Symanowski, J. Lepore, R. Smith, H. Galpin, J. Wadey, S. Griffiths, H. Fenton.
Substitutes (rolling subs): B. Young, C. Marron, N. Marshall, A. Barnes. N. Sullivan
Reaction
“It’s something we’ve been working this week, and it’s great to see them apply the attacking movements we’ve worked on in the game in order to create opportunities throughout. Today was a success, everyone got plenty of minutes, everyone impacted the game in a positive way and we got better and better as the game moved on!
“We were a bit shaky at the back and gifted them a couple of chances but I told the girls that if we had confidence in our abilities moving forward, our attacking play would win us this game, and they got much better and sharper at the back!
“The younger girls have been excellent this season. They’ve added to the talent we already have and will continue to develop. Today was just another example of them wanting to improve as everyone seemed deflated at the break, knowing we were level, but credit to them all as their application and response in the second half was the catalyst to us getting over the line. Hopefully this kick starts a set of performances that can really help us grasp our aims and objectives for the season ahead.”
