17th November 2024
Report by Ben Stevens.
Photo courtesy of Marc Payne Photography.
Cheltenham Town Women picked up an important three points away to Plymouth Argyle.
Una Lue (pictured) opened the scoring after 22 minutes with a clinical strike to finish off a great team move.
In a chaotic second half, which saw Plymouth receive three yellow-card sin bins, captain Emily Owen added a second from a corner to seal what could be a massive three points in Cheltenham’s season.
First Half:
Plymouth had the first chance of the game, with Ella Stephensmaking a run down their left-hand side. The original shot was blocked by Ffion Llewellyn, with Holly Finch eventually getting the ball clear.
However, it was Cheltenham who got the breakthrough in the 22nd minute. Henna Butcher won the ball back well in her own half, and attacked with Ella Pemberton and Una Lue. Butcher found Pemberton, who slid the ball through to Lue, who finished well into the far bottom corner.
Argyle had a shot from distance late into the first half, attacking down their right-hand side, but the cross was too deep, forcing a wild shot from distance which didn’t trouble Mia Smith.
Second Half:
The second half saw many chances for Tom Davies’ side, with Lue, Butcher and Pemberton all having chances. The best was after some fantastic link-up play between Butcher and Lue, playing multiple passes between them around their defenders, which left Butcher with space for a shot, but her effort was saved well by Feldgate.
Butcher and Lue worked well to keep Plymouth pinned back, with both strikers winning the ball of their defender multiple times.
Lue had a shot from a close angle after beating her marker to the ball, but the shot was saved, before Lue had another chance which she met well but the effort was over the bar.
Finally, Cheltenham’s second came from the captain before the game descended into chaos. Owen headed home Libby Bell’s cross in the 70th minute, which led to a chaotic ending of the match.
Straight after the goal, Plymouth were unhappy with the referee, which led to Taya Pomfret receiving a yellow card and a 10-minute sin bin, whilst Plymouth’s manager was also shown a red card.
16 minutes later, two more Argyle players were shown yellow cards and sent to the bench.
Into stoppage time, Cheltenham had the chance to add a third from a free-kick on the edge of the box, but Owen’s effort went wide.
The win sealed an important three points which movedCheltenham up to ninth and five points clear of the relegation zone.
Cheltenham: Smith; Finch, Llewellyn, Owen; Trinci(Bell 62), Hateley, Attenborough (Greenwood 76), Collis, Pemberton; Butcher (Hale 90+5), Lue (Morgan-Hemmens 82).
Cheltenham Player of the Match:
Chosen by Opposition: Ffion Llewellyn.
