Guthlaxton got back to winning ways in the first of their league matches, following their defeat in the National Cup, with a goal from Katie Connor and a brace for Abby Wells.

Guthlaxton College 3 – 1 King Edward, Coalville 1

Player of the Match: Katie Connor

On a poor pitch away to Coalville, Guthlaxton dominated from the start. The midfield three of Jade McLaurin, Megan Burnside and Becky Borrows immediately stamped their authority on the game, winning the ball and playing some dangerous through balls to loan striker Abby Wells. Within a few minutes, this domination paid off. McLaurin found Katie Connor on the left wing, who played a neat through ball to Wells. Wells used her strength to get between the defender and was left with a one on one with the keeper. Wells coolly waited for the keeper to move before slotting the ball into the bottom corner, giving Guthlaxton the lead after 5 minutes.

Straight from the kick off Guthlaxton looked threatening again with Wells having a number of chances, but was unable to convert. With Guthlaxton piling the pressure on, King Edward were becoming stretched at the back. This lead to more chances with Borrows shooting narrowly wide and Captain Leah Grant having opportunities to increase the lead, however, none were able to convert the chances into goals. King Edward rarely looked to threaten the Guthlaxton goal in the first half with keeper Zara Cook not having to make a save.

The second half started in the same way as the first half ended, with Guthlaxton dominating all over the park Katie Connor was working tireless on the left wing, beating the King Edward player every time. Eventually, Connor’s skill paid off. Connor beat two players running down the left wing and cut into the box. With a final defender to beat, Connor looked to shoot before cutting inside the defender and placing the ball in to the bottom corner of the goal from 8 yards out, doubling Guthlaxton’s advantage.

Guthlaxton drew confidence from this goal, pushing more players forward, in search of a third goal. Freya Vincent found space and was able to cross the ball into the box on numerous occasions, but King Edward were able to scramble the ball away. With 15 minutes remaining of the match, Player of the Match, Katie Connor played a neat through ball to Wells, who was able to convert past the oncoming keeper and score her second of he game, putting the game beyond King Edward’s reach.

In the final 5 minutes, with Guthlaxton’s concentration slipping, a mistake from the defence allowed the King Edward striker to find space and from just inside the 18 yard box was able to convert the ball, scoring King Edwards conciliation goal making it 3-1. With a few minutes to go, substitute Amy Brown came close, with a low shot, that the King Edward keeper somehow managed to push wide for a corner.

Team: Z.Cook, L.Grant, N.Connor, G.Westbury, R.Cyanchuk, F.Vincent, J.McLaurin, M.Burnside, K.Connor, B.Borrows, A.Wells, K.Reynolds, A.Brown, T.Copp

Published on Monday 26th January 2009 at 09:00