Chesterfield Ladies suffered a 3-2 defeat to title rivals Lincoln United Women at Ashby Avenue on Sunday afternoon as their 100% winning record in the league came to an end.
The Blues had the better of the first half and were deservedly 2-1 up at the interval thanks to goals from Amy Pashley and Gina Camfield. However, the hosts dominated the second half to take all three points.
After a tight opening 15 minutes of the match, the hosts took the lead thanks to an excellent strike from Abbie Murrell. After a slight lapse in concentration in Chesterfield’s back line, a Lincoln attacker broke free of the visitors defence. As she neared the goalkeeper though, the pace of the Blues defence managed to slow her advance and forced her off course.
Unfortunately for Chesterfield, she found striker Abbie Murrell with a pass and her 25 yard effort sailed over Lucy Paley and into the back of the net to give the Whites the lead.
The visitors responded superbly though to the setback and performed excellently in the last half hour of the first half.
Beth Smyth (who had come on as an early substitute for the injured Shannon Purdy) came very close to an equaliser in the 24th minute when her 12 yard effort was well saved.
The visitors continued to press well and were soon rewarded with an equaliser after 28 minutes played following a moment of magic from Amy Pashley. After a well-worked short corner routine, Pashley saw the opportunity to have a go from 30 yards out and her outstanding effort curled into the top corner for a wonderful equaliser.
With the score at 1-1, Mike Noon’s side continued to press high and with pace. It only took four minutes after the equaliser for Chesterfield to take a 2-1 lead. In the 32nd minute, Georgina Williams went on a powerful surging run down the left wing which saw her enter the penalty area. Her low cross into the centre caused the Lincoln defence huge problems and they couldn’t clear the ball away properly. This allowed Gina Camfield the opportunity to strike from 12 yards out and her well-placed effort beat the keeper and rippled the back of the net to put the Blues in control.
The hosts were really struggling to contain Chesterfield at this point and the Blues will sorely regret not taking advantage of this and bagging another goal before the interval.
Just two minutes after Chesterfield took the lead, the Blues had a good opportunity to extend their lead when Georgina Williams found space and time to hit the target. However, the Lincoln goalkeeper came off her line quickly to block the striker’s effort. The ball fell at the feet of Gina Camfield but her long range rebound effort was steered wide of the post when under pressure from the Whites defence.
Mike Noon’s side then had a golden chance to make it 3-1 on the stroke of half-time. A long ball caused havoc in Lincoln’s defence and the lightning pace of Williams allowed her to break free of the Whites defence and gain possession with just the goalkeeper to beat. With everyone at Ashby Avenue holding their breath, Williams’s one-on-one effort was superbly tipped around the post by the goalkeeper.
The second half though was a different affair for the Blues as Lincoln bossed proceedings to take back control of the game and secure all three points.
It only took five minutes after the re-start for the hosts to get back on level terms. An in-swinging corner kick caused Lucy Paley problems in between the sticks and she was unable to prevent Annie Ward from smashing the ball home from only six yards out to make it 2-2.
Lincoln took the lead after 65 minutes played in sensational style when Lauren Churcher’s superb 25 yard shot beat Paley and found the top corner.
The Blues just couldn’t find any footing in the second half and really struggled to cope with Lincoln’s constant pressure; in fairness, Mike Noon’s side did well not to fall further behind and stay in contention.
Just two minutes after Churcher restored Lincoln’s lead, the hosts came desperately close to extending their lead when the ball was trapped and claimed on the goal line following a corner kick. The hosts claimed that the ball had sneaked over the line but the assistant referee ruled that the ball had just been saved in time.
The pressure from the hosts just kept on coming. In the 74th minute, a 20 yard rocket of an attempt smacked off the cross bar before an effort from around four yards out was somehow blazed over the bar with five minutes remaining.
Despite the Lincoln onslaught, Chesterfield came incredibly close to snatching a point right at the end of the game. An excellent corner on the cusp of stoppage time saw a header deflected onto the cross bar. From the following corner, substitute Lydia Pascoe’s 15 yard header was steered narrowly wide of the target.
The full time whistle was blown shortly after to mark the end of Chesterfield’s unbeaten start to the league season. The Blues remain in third position in the East Midlands Women’s Premier Division but do still have a game in hand on Notts County Women and Lincoln United Women above them.
Chesterfield Ladies team: Paley, Baker, Jebb-Geer, Anderson, Warren, Pashley, Purdy, Fidler, Frances-Creaser, Williams, Camfield. Used subs: Cook, Pascoe, Philips, Smyth.
Attendance: 132
Mike Noon Quotes:
“It’s a tough one to take. I felt we were good in the first half. We conceded a goal under a little bit of pressure from them but then we responded really well and scored two goals which was fantastic. It could have been a couple more before the interval had we took our opportunities. Unfortunately in the second half, we weren’t at the races. We weren’t as good as what Lincoln were…and I think they deserved the three points. You can’t really argue with that today. There’s a lot of reflection to be done from ourselves. But this is just one game of many. Seasons aren’t won or lost here today. We know it’s still in our hands if we want to get promoted.”
“I thought Lincoln had a bit more desire than us in the second half. It was two good teams going at it and it was a great game of football to watch…we’ll see where we all are at the end of the season and we’ll take it from there.”
“We’ve got quite a few injuries plus Millie Standen was unavailable due to a sickness bug. We’ve come here with a depleted squad – but we’re not going to use that as an excuse. Players have come in today and done a very good job today for the team. Unfortunately, in the second half, we just weren’t at the same level as they were. We just need to move on now and focus on the next game.”
“We’ve got Mansfield at home next which is followed by Notts County away. Two big games for us before Christmas. We need to respond and get two wins from those games. It’s a tough one to take today but hopefully we will respond and get those couple of wins before the Christmas break.”
Comments